The parents of Milly Tuomey have paid tribute to their “special” daughter.
Fiona and Tim Tuomey spoke to Ryan Tubridy on the Late Late Show last night about their “unique” daughter, Milly, and how she had spent her last Christmas with her family.
Milly took her own life in January 2016 after posting on Instagram that she was unhappy with her appearance and contemplating suicide.
She was 11-years-old.
The parents of the Templeogue girl have said that more needs to be done for people living with depression in Ireland.
Tim recounted the evening that Milly’s sister, Daisy, discovered that something was wrong.
He said:
“We were watching a movie altogether, Fiona’s father was with us, and it was New Year’s Day.
“(Milly) got bored with the movie and she left the room. It wasn’t long before her sister got bored of the movie and she left the room.
“And then we heard her sister cry out and then she cried out again.”
Milly passed away four days later in hospital.
Fiona told the Late Late Show audience that she and her husband wanted to come on the programme to show that, often, you cannot know what another person is going through.
She said:
“People think of depression as a big glaring sign across somebody’s forehead. A dark cloud, somebody crying, someone shaking. That’s not necessarily the case.
“I mean, there were highs and there were lows. She could be withdrawn or irritable.
“We’re coming from the position that unless someone already has a diagnosed mental illness, you don’t know.”
“The main reason we wanted to come on and talk to people was to really get across the message that you don’t know. People think of depression as a big glaring sign across somebody’s forehead… That is not necessarily the case” – Fiona Tuomey #latelate pic.twitter.com/uEvIgQesKg
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) December 15, 2017
The couple also paid tribute to their late-daughter, saying that she was a talented girl, “funny and mischievous.”
“She played the piano, she loved to ice skate. She was skating up to competition standard. She spoke three languages fluently at 11.
“Her sister Daisy tells us stories about the things they used to get up to. It was always nice to hear that they had developed their own little world together as well.”
If you or someone you know has been affected by these issues, you can contact Samaritans on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org.
