Dear Staff at Peamount Hospital,

IWISH I had written to you all those years ago in 1992 when I was a patient in your hospital with my newborn baby, Shona.

At first I was overwhelmed by the unfamiliar surroundings. Shona was a tiny newborn baby and there was no suitable cot in the hospital for her. She slept in a cot that looked like it had come out of the war years — a huge cot with high bars, and she looked like a tiny doll in it.

Despite those first few days of adjusting, we were quickly made to feel welcome, a tiny cot on wheels from the Coombe was made available for Shona the next day. Shona was a “celebrity” in the hospital as she was the only baby there. She was doted on in the middle of the night by the night nurse who enjoyed pandering to her every need. I was generally known as ‘Shona’s Mother’ and not by my name, which I found quite amusing and kind of sweet.

Shona was baptised in the hospital and one of the nurses became her godmother, the nurse also gave her gifts before she left for home. This was a very traumatic period of my life, coping with TB and also a new baby, but you were all so kind and we quickly were made to feel at home.

When we left the hospital, I missed the company and support and have never forgotten the loving care which you all so generously gave to us.

Thanks once again, I have never forgotten your kindness. Mairead Brennan, Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny