Castlederg woman is Inspirational Mum of the Year

A CASTLEDERG woman, who has turned the loss of losing a child into a tireless journey to assist others in the same situation, has won ‘Inspirational Mum of the Year’ award at a glittering ceremony at the weekend.

Toni McCafferty was ‘overwhelmed and elated’ following her win at Belfast’s Europa Hotel on Sunday night.

However, she also admitted that initially had no idea that she’d even been nominated.

Back in April 2020, Toni was in the midst of her second pregnancy; a daughter whom she and husband, Stuart, had named Elise and who would be a little sister to their other daughter, Isla.

Six months into the pregnancy, though, the family had to endure the most heartbreaking of challenges as they lost little Elise.

As Toni explained, “When we lost Elise, it was one of the worst experiences of our lives; everyone was just shattered.

“After a period of self-grief, I decided to turn my grief into something positive, and set about helping women who would find themselves in a similar situation.

“I fundraised for charities who help women in this situation, held sponsored walks, developed ‘dignity bags’ or ‘wee bags of love’ as I call them, containing items which may be of help to women who may be forced to rush to hospital unexpectedly if something happens; anything I could do to help I would, with Isla as my little assistant.”

Then, around four weeks ago, Toni learned of her nomination.

“It was completely out-of-the- blue,” she said. “I had no idea that I was even nominated.

“It turned out that the joint- nomination came from the bereavement midwife in Altnagelvin, a lady called Melissa and A&E manager in the hospital, a lady called Colleen. I was completely taken aback, but getting the nomination was beautiful.”

shocked

So, following her nomination, Toni, Stuart and Isla made the journey to Belfast’s Europa for the awards ceremony and, as Toni admits, she was shocked to hear her name called.

She commented, “I was in absolute shock and bewilderment once my name was called, and I began to cry happy tears.

“It’s almost as if that was the last thing I heard before I went up to receive my award, because, to be honest, I don’t remember much.

“It was a bit of a blur.”

Toni further remarked that her journey to help others has been one of catharsis for herself.

“I suffer from anxiety, but this journey of helping others has been a huge help to me. I’ve been able to assist people in my own surroundings, beavering away in the background, which has helped me cope with my own grief. I never intended to put my own face out there.

“It’s also heartening to know that my work is helping so many others, and I hope to be able to continue it for as long as I can.

“Isla has been my little helper throughout, so, who knows, someday I could be nominating her for the same award!”