Rob Delaney reveals heartache at spending first Christmas without his son, who passed away this year
Actor Rob Delaney's two-year-old son Henry died in January.
Actor and comedian Rob Delaney has revealed his heartache after spending his first Christmas without his son, Henry.
Henry was two-years-old when he died of a brain tumour in January of this year.
The Catastrophe star took to Twitter to discuss his family's struggle during the festive season following their tragic loss.
He wrote: 'Our first Christmas without Henry came & went. The day itself was okay, maybe because there were so many horrible, painful days leading up to it; we must have hit our quota or something.'
'We talked about him a lot & included his memory throughout the day.'
The actor also shared a photo of Henry, which he simply captioned 'My sweet boy'
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In September, Rob announced he had started writing a book about Henry's battle with cancer but was unable to finish it when he passed away. He shared a heartbreaking extract of the book with fans:
'I’m aware this ends somewhat abruptly. The above was part of a book proposal I put together before Henry’s tumour came back and we learned that he would die. I stopped writing when we saw the new, bad MRI.'
'My wife and his brothers and I just wanted to be with him around the clock and make sure his final months were happy. And they were.'
Rob stated that he wanted to share the details of his grief in the hope that it would serve as a comfort to other parents in a similar situation.
In the extract he writes: 'The intended audience for this book was to be my fellow parents of very sick children. They were always so tired and sad, like ghosts, walking the halls of the hospitals, and I wanted them to know someone understood and cared.'
The actor shared the same sentiment in yesterday's Tweets, as he stated that he has opted to 'speak publicly about Henry in an effort to destigmatize grief.'
He revealed: 'Tweets like this aren’t therapeutic to me, nor are they “updates”. I just want other bereaved parents & siblings to feel seen/heard/respected/loved. And maybe they might help someone not schooled in grief support a friend better. I don’t know.'
The actor has two other sons with his wife, Leah, and they announced in June that they are expecting a fourth child.
He confirmed his son's tragic death in a moving Facebook post in February, writing:
'Henry was a joy. He was smart, funny, and mischievous and we had so many wonderful adventures together, particularly after he'd moved home following fifteen months living in hospitals.'
He also shared that he would 'endeavour not to go mad with grief', and spoke of his excitement to watch Henry's brothers grow and enjoy their 'beautiful lives.'
Niamh McCollum is a freelance lifestyle writer who has written for Future titles GoodTo and Marie Claire UK, plus the Irish Independent. The Dublin-based journalist specialises in stories
affecting families - from health updates, to the freshest parenting debates and celebrity announcements.
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