The mother of a baby who was buried for a second time this week said she is very grateful for the overwhelming support she has received from the public.
Last week, the Irish Sunday Mirror exclusively revealed how the final remains of Jessica Kavanagh were given back to her family nearly 26 years after her death.
The six-month-old tot had died naturally from Edwards’ Syndrome, but her devastated parents Rita and Jimmy discovered the hospital did an autopsy without their consent.
The baby was part of the Dunne Inquiry into the organ retention scandal despite knowing Jessica had died naturally on December 18, 1996.
The child’s brain was sent away to either the UK or Germany and was incinerated without the family’s knowledge.
On Wednesday, the Kavanagh family, from Ballymun in North Dublin, held a second funeral for Jessica after receiving the last of her remains from Temple Street Children’s hospital.
Speaking to the Irish Sunday Mirror , Rita said she had received a lot of support from the public with many other families contacting her with similar horror stories.
She added: “I feel a lot better now we got Jessica home and were able to put all her pieces together again.
“It should never have happened. I know we will never get her brain back, but we have done our best. I do feel grateful I have support that people have given. I was surprised so many people have contacted me saying something similar had happened to their child.
“I feel better that I have all her other pieces together, you cannot do anything about her brain.
“I am still looking for answers to why this happened, but the second funeral has helped a bit.”
Rita said the family chose to bury Jessica on April 6 as it was the child’s grandfather’s birthday and they held a small ceremony at their family grave in Glasnevin cemetery.
She added: “It was just me and Jimmy and our children. We have never forgotten Jessica, she is a part of our lives every day.
“I have a nephew who is becoming a priest and he said a few prayers.
“I’d like to thank the public for all their support as this has been a tough journey for our family.”
Rita and Jimmy learned three years after their daughter’s death that Temple Street Children’s hospital had kept some of her child’s organs.
To their horror, the hospital told the family Jessica’s brain was sent to either Germany or Wales for incineration, but paperwork had been lost so no confirmation of the organ’s whereabouts could be ever given.
Shockingly, having written to the hospital again recently, Rita learned some of Jessica remains were still held in a lab in the hospital.
Nearly 50 samples of the little one’s remains were given back to the Kavanagh family on March 23 and a second funeral took place on Wednesday.
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