On a windy sunny Wednesday morning the Kilteely women’s group were delighted to present handmade blankets to the BUMBLEance for children who will travel in this special vehicle. The group have been busy making the blankets since Spring to give to children who will benefit from them.
BUMBLEance, is the national children’s ambulance service, providing stress-reducing journeys for sick children in state-of-the-art, safe and fun vehicles. They transport children in a fun environment from the far reaches of Ireland, both urban and rural, to their treatment centres.
All the children from Kilteely school joined the women’s group to see the BUMBLEance, and driver Jim Bourke explained the history of the BUMBLEance and told us about all the children and families who have been 
helped. When Tony & Mary Heffernan were told that their only daughter Saoirse had Batten Disease on the 25th of September 2009, they left the hospital in Dublin with no information about Batten Disease, what to expect or where to look for help. They vowed that this would have to change. In March 2010, the Heffernan family received more bad news when their son Liam was also diagnosed with Batten Disease. One of the initiatives that they set up to support children and families as a result of their own experience was BUMBLEance.
We were delighted to welcome the BUMBLEance to Kilteely and give the blankets for the children who will travel in it. All who attended on the morning got an insight into the importance of this work and we would like to thank Jim for all of his information on the morning and for answering lots of questions from the children who also got a tour of the BUMBLEance and a chance to look at the wonderful facilities for sick children.
If you would like to join Kilteely women’s group new members are always welcome. Phone Mary on 061 383884. For more information on the BUMBLEance see www.bumbleance.com