(AP Photos/Tim Ireland)
Rob Delaney Recalls Son Henry’s Death in Heartbreaking Essay to Fellow Parents of Sick Children.
Eight months after announcing the death of his youngest son, writer and comedian Rob Delaney has published an essay on Medium about being a parent to a chronically ill child.
Henry Delaney was 11 months old when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2016. He died at 2½ in January. The essay covers the early days of Henry’s illness, his initial diagnosis, and some details of his treatment.
Delaney wrote in the final few paragraphs that the essay was originally intended to be part of a book proposal for “fellow parents of very sick children.” He’d stopped working after receiving news that Henry’s tumor had returned so that he and his family could “be with him around the clock and make sure his final months were happy.”
“And they were,” Delaney added.
After posting the link to the essay on Twitter on Tuesday with the caption, “I hope this helps,” Delaney received over a thousand comments online wishing him well and thanking him for sharing.
“The response to this from parents & siblings of sick kids — and of course kids who’ve died — makes me glad I posted it,” Delaney wrote in a follow-up tweet. “There are some very good people in the world and I appreciate all your kind words.”
The Marblehead native lives in London and stars in the British sitcom “Catastrophe,” which airs on Amazon in the United States. In July, Delaney announced that he and his wife, Leah, are expecting a fourth child.
