Silent Teddy Bear Protest

I was a patient in Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin back in 1989. I had open-heart surgery to repair a birth defect and I will never forget the wonderful atmosphere fostered in the hospital. It was a friendly, vibrant place (wonderfully progressive for the late 1980s) and the staff did an amazing job.

I'm so disappointed to hear about all the recent plans to cutback services at the hospital, so I was interested to read about a Silent Protest planned at Leinster House for Saturday and Sunday. The official protest is at midday, and visitors are being asked to leave a teddy bear with the name of an affected child at the gate to Leinster House.

"We are having a silent protest at The Dail, Kildare st entrance,on Saturday and
Sunday. All we ask is that you bring a Teddy Bear to represent each of your
children or if you are not a parent just bring along a teddy.If you can stick a
sticker with the child's name on it-all the better.There is a free Family day on
both days at The Oireachtas.We are hoping for thousands of teddy bears to get
the visual effect we want.We want everyone in Ireland to be aware of the
cutbacks in Crumlin and to realise they could affect any of us at any time.You
can drop the teddy on your way in and where possible if the children can place
the teddy that will be best."

I'll be there on Saturday. This means something to me, having been a patient there. I hope that it means something to you too. Facebook page link.