The family of a 10 year old girl who passed away last June after being diagnosed with a rare brain tumour have donated a bench to Drumilly Primary School, in memory of their “beautiful, energetic and intelligent” daughter.
Eve Keenan was coming up to her 10th birthday in April 2015 when she started to experience dizzy spells and loss of balance.
She was quickly referred by her GP to Daisy Hill Children’s Ward after suffering double vision while on holiday in July 2015. This led to the devastating diagnosis of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (D.I.P.G.), a brain tumour which affects around 40 children in the UK every year with no known survivors.
Eve and her family embarked on a journey that was to last 11 months from the date of diagnosis, with the 10 year old enduring four weeks of radiotherapy and regular appointments at the Royal Victoria Hospital in an attempt to manage the symptoms brought on by her tumour.
According to her proud parents, Raymond and Aisling, Eve’s “bravery, determination and unfailing sense of humour” carried the entire family circle through those 11 months, before she passed away peacefully in her sleep on June 21, 2016.
“Eve’s passion in life was reading, writing stories and school in general. From a very early age she impressed all around her with her command of the English language,” mum Aisling told The Examiner.
“The help and support received from the staff of St Brigid’s (Drumilly) Primary School and from Eve’s friends allowed her to attend school up until two months before she passed away.
“Although we could never repay the school for everything they did for Eve, her siblings Anna, Luke and Holly and us, we decided to donate a bench to the school in Eve’s memory.”
With the help of the Eco committee, the idea was developed and expanded on and now the school has a beautiful garden with ample seating for outdoor reading.
“We hope this will be a lasting memory of Eve’s love of literature as each book chosen was special to her,” says Aisling.
“The school has also initiated a yearly creative writing competition for the ‘Perpetual Eve Keenan Literacy Award,’ the inaugural prizegiving of which was hosted in the garden close to Eve’s first anniversary.
“Again, we are very grateful for this gesture and hope it will inspire budding authors whilst remembering our precious daughter Eve.”
