ORPHAN HELPS EASE PAIN
Orphan helps ease pain
Emotional reunion for Omagh family
By Enda McClafferty
THE husband of Omagh bomb victim Philomena Skelton was today preparing for an emotional reunion with the Romanian orphan his wife doted on. Kevin Skelton will keep faith with a promise made by Philomena when he welcomes little Andrea Cozac back into their Drumquin home today.
The 12-year-old has already spent two holidays with the Skelton family during which she developed a very strong bond with Philomena.
And such was the relationship that Kevin today admitted being apprehensive about how Andrea will react to the death of his wife.
"Philomena and Andrea were so close they were just like mother and daughter and I know it will hit her hard when she arrives home and Philomena is not there," he said. "I am not sure if she has been told about Philomena's death and so I have been on edge all week thinking about how she will react." However, despite his reservations the father-of-four admitted that the family have been looking forward to this day for months. "It is the one thing that we have had to look forward to and to be honest it has helped ease a lot of the pain that we have been going through," he said.
"Andrea is part of our family now and I know that when we see her smiling face coming off the plane we will all get a much needed lift.
"She is such a brave little girl and just having her around the house will help brighten up our lives again. You could call her a ray of hope."
Kevin's own children Paula (19), Ray (17), Tracey (16) and 14-year-old Shauna, who was also injured in the Omagh bomb, were due to accompany him to Belfast International Airport today for the long-awaited arrival.
In all a total of 22 Romanian orphans are due to arrive in the province this evening for a three-week stay in the Omagh area.
Emotional reunion for Omagh family
By Enda McClafferty
THE husband of Omagh bomb victim Philomena Skelton was today preparing for an emotional reunion with the Romanian orphan his wife doted on. Kevin Skelton will keep faith with a promise made by Philomena when he welcomes little Andrea Cozac back into their Drumquin home today.
The 12-year-old has already spent two holidays with the Skelton family during which she developed a very strong bond with Philomena.
And such was the relationship that Kevin today admitted being apprehensive about how Andrea will react to the death of his wife.
"Philomena and Andrea were so close they were just like mother and daughter and I know it will hit her hard when she arrives home and Philomena is not there," he said. "I am not sure if she has been told about Philomena's death and so I have been on edge all week thinking about how she will react." However, despite his reservations the father-of-four admitted that the family have been looking forward to this day for months. "It is the one thing that we have had to look forward to and to be honest it has helped ease a lot of the pain that we have been going through," he said.
"Andrea is part of our family now and I know that when we see her smiling face coming off the plane we will all get a much needed lift.
"She is such a brave little girl and just having her around the house will help brighten up our lives again. You could call her a ray of hope."
Kevin's own children Paula (19), Ray (17), Tracey (16) and 14-year-old Shauna, who was also injured in the Omagh bomb, were due to accompany him to Belfast International Airport today for the long-awaited arrival.
In all a total of 22 Romanian orphans are due to arrive in the province this evening for a three-week stay in the Omagh area.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0797
Published Date: 19-Jul-99
Related Images
There have been no images archived for this article.