A mother who lost her five year old girl to ‘Strep A’ infection two months ago, is trying to spread awareness about the deadly infection. Kate Molly Colum (5) from Strokestown was living life to the full, before she lost her fight against the contagious bacterial infection and can be highly invasive at Sligo University Hospital on 31st March 2023. Mum Claire remains in disbelief while recalling her daughter’s beautiful memories. She describes Kate as a brave and strong individual, who was full of life and happiness. She wants people to know that despite having Down Syndrome her daughter was living her life to the fullest. “Kate was born in Sligo University Hospital on 6th December 2017 and then we found out that she had Down syndrome. She was born as a strong and healthy child, who fought hard and worked hard for everything in her short life. “She achieved so much in her short little life. She was the best baby who worked hard all her little life from a tiny baby right up until she went to heaven. There is nothing she couldn’t do. “She was born with Down syndrome and this was a really positive thing because it was something that changed our whole lives. “She came into our lives, and it rocked our world. She pulled us all so tight as a family and family is what she showed us. She showed us the importance of our family. “My girl was the centre of everything, and she was born with so much strength and determination. She did everything that challenged her, and we kept pushing her. We kept her challenged all her life because she loved the challenges. “She loved something that she had to work at even climbing on the sofa. We didn’t have stairs in the house but she loved to practice climbing and other activities. “After working so much even if she had achieved something small, the celebration was huge because we all had worked with her. “We worked with her to crawl and to walk and when she reached every milestone, and we celebrated it because it took a bit longer for her to get there. “We were working hard on her Speech and Language more recently and we were so happy with all the words she had and all her language and communication skills.” Kate was attending a mainstream play school, Buttercups Playschool in Tarmonbarry and doing well with the other kids. “She was so smart and had spent nearly two years there. She has done very well there. She was like a joker and she loved to go to play school. She loved to run off and do something she was not supposed to do, when the teachers weren’t looking. “That’s just how her life went on. We have a farm and she loved to go outside. She ran miles and miles in her little wellies. She loved running after the sheep and chasing the hens and helping her Daddy feed the pet lambs. “Her older brother Matthew (8) was her first friend and she loved to be the elder sister to her baby brother Daniel (2). “She sometimes provoked them on purpose by hiding their things or taking them, just to make them chase her and she enjoyed the thrill of the chase. She was actually given the nickname of ‘Roadrunner’.” “We had Daniel in 2021 who was her little brother. She just loved him, minded him with me, fed him and help me change him. She was a perfect big sister. Then as he got older and started walking they were just best friends. “They did everything together. She loved that he could walk with her and they played Lego together or make jigsaws together or sit and watch TV. The time when she was in play school was the only time they were apart. They were two peas in a pod and Daniel misses her company a lot now. Kate was brought to Sligo University Hospital as she was not feeling well, but within two days she left the world. Her sudden demise left everyone in pain and sorrow. “We brought her to Sligo University Hospital on Wednesday evening by ambulance and she was sent home on Thursday. Then I returned with her on Thursday night in another ambulance but it was too late.” “She was never sick before, this was the first time she was in an ambulance and in an A&E. She wasn’t well that day and it later turned out that she had contracted Strep A. “We never thought we’d lose her like this. Losing a child is the worst thing imaginable and in circumstances like this it is even more painful. Strep A can become invasive and it’s just a nightmare. We do want to get that message out there and let people know, to be aware of it. “I was aware of it too but we want people to know that she was so well, she didn’t have any weak immunity. She was so healthy and she was never sick. “This could have been any five year old anywhere in the world and we do want to raise awareness about Strep A. “She was going to start school this September, in Ballyfeeney National School. It’s a mainstream school that her brother and cousins go to and her father Matthew went to the same school as well. “Her Daddy was exceptionally happy for her to be following in his footsteps. “The Principal and teachers of the school were delighted with her perfect grip of the pencil in the picture I posted online for her obituary. “They were excited and getting ready for her to join them. We were also preparing for her school. “We had so many summer activities planned for this year with her friends at Roscommon Branch of Down Syndrome. “They were all devastated when they heard this. They have all been great support to us over the years but especially in the days of the funeral. We’re so grateful to all our family, friends and the whole community. They just carried us through those days that we couldn’t have done without them. “Kate was an active member of Roscommon Down Syndrome branch and we made so many friends there. They have been fantastic to us and it was Kate who brought them all into our life. She has connected us forever with them and they are like another family to us. “Losing Kate was devastating for them as well. All the kids paid her a tribute in their own way. They painted pebbles and rocks for her grave. They were all bright and colourful with glitter and dots and Peppa Pig pictures. “They knew Kate was so full of life. Peppa Pig was her favourite cartoon so we had musicians during her funeral who played the melody of the Peppa Pig theme song in a slowed down version. “Kate loved the simple things in life, red sauce, chips, ice cream, chocolate buttons, jumping on the trampoline, watching Peppa pig, dancing and twirling to music, jumping in puddles, playing with water, messy play, farming, jigsaws etc. “She adored colouring and when she coloured she would hum away to herself and that is how we knew she was truly happy. She loved the freedom of running around the farm “We’re so proud of her for how she lived her short life. For five years she worked so hard but she also played very hard and she fought so hard to stay with us that morning in Sligo. Now we can only remember her memories and smile and her energy. “She changed us all and now we are all different people. It’s hard and I just think that no other family should go through this. “I just want every parent to keep in their minds that this is something that has happened locally and it could happen to anyone. “It is not something that happened far away and they need to be cautious. I don’t want anyone else to lose their child to this. It’s so painful and it could have been prevented. “Kate was the centre of our world, we are so proud to say she was our daughter and we will keep her in our hearts forever and her memory and spirit will live on.” Meanwhile, Strokestown’s Sliabh Bán Athletic club is hosting a 10km road race on Sunday 11th June 2023 with all proceeds going to the Roscommon Branch of Down Syndrome Ireland, in memory of Kate Molly Colum. This money will fund a lot of activities and therapies such as cookery classes, dance classes, speech and language therapy for its members. In it’s eight years the race has attracted a competitive field of athletes and leisure runners. The course boasts a scenic looped route with undulating roads which finishes in the grounds of Stro