Catastrophe star Rob Delaney has told of his heartache as he celebrated his first Christmas since the death of his young son.
Two-year-old Henry died in January after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.
In an emotional message on Twitter, Delaney said there had been “horrible, painful days” in the lead up to the festive season, and told how his family had sought to keep Henry’s memory alive.
I speak publicly about Henry in an effort to destigmatize grief. My family is sad & in pain because our beautiful 2 yr old boy died after a long illness. Why wouldn’t we be sad? Why wouldn’t we be angry and confused?
— rob delaney (@robdelaney) December 26, 2018
“Our first Christmas without Henry came & went”, he wrote.
“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.”
He later added that he felt it was important to speak publicly about his son “in an effort to destigmatise grief”.
“My family is sad & in pain because our beautiful 2 yr old boy died after a long illness,” he said. “Why wouldn’t we be sad? Why wouldn’t we be angry and confused?”
My sweet boy pic.twitter.com/E6F2BScFoi
— rob delaney (@robdelaney) December 26, 2018
He added: “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.”
The comedian also shared a photograph of Henry, captioning it: “My sweet boy”.
Delaney revealed the news of his son’s death in a lengthy Facebook post in February, and paid tribute to his “smart, funny, and mischievous” son.
The youngster was diagnosed with a brain tumour shortly after his first birthday in 2016 and had surgery to remove it, but the cancer returned in the autumn of 2017.