"We made this Christmas special at Vicky's request."
The family of health campaigner Vicky Phelan enjoyed a "special" Christmas in her honour.
Vicky, who was one of the women impacted by the CervcialCheck scandal in Ireland, passed away earlier this year. In the years leading up to her death, she campaigned tirelessly for women's healthcare, and in 2017, she took the Irish State to court before settling a case with Clinical Pathology Laboratories. Her refusal to sign a non-disclosure agreement brought about the discovery of a number of other women who would have benefitted from earlier medical interventions.
Her family has been maintaining her Facebook page, Vicky's Tribe, and they shared how they spent their first Christmas without her.
A post on behalf of her parents John and Gabby Kelly, her husband Jim, and her children Amelia and Darragh read: "We would like to wish a very Happy New Year to all the members of Vicky's Tribe and all the administrators who set up this platform to give Vicky so much Love and support over the last few years.
"It has been an amazing experience to see how it bonded so many people together to be part of our family and share in Vicky's life at a time when she needed it most to help her ease and overcome some of her difficulties and we can say it was an overwhelming success.
"Of course, it will leave a huge void for us when Vicky's Tribe Page is taken down as it gave us so much pride reading all your beautiful comments and at the end all your genuine sympathy and condolences at the loss of a very special daughter. We made this Christmas special at Vicky's request and even with heavy hearts we overcame our sorrow to make a very Happy Christmas for all the family. So a big Thank You to each and every one of you for your love and kindness to our wonderful daughter Vicky."
