BABY WHO BROUGHT HOPE AFTER OMAGH'S DARKEST DAY STARTS OUT ON LEARNING TRAIL
Baby who brought 'hope' after Omagh's darkest day starts out in the learning trail
By David Killen
A YOUNG girl who brought a ray of hope to the dark days that followed Omagh's bomb atrocity opened another chapter in the story of a life when she started nursery school this week.
Chloe Emery was born just five days after the blast, in which her mother was injured.
Now just turned four, she was this week happily getting a gentle introduction to the world of education in the nursery unit at Omagh Integrated Primary School.
Her birth, on August 20 1998, was seen as a sign of hope. Indeed her parents, Nicola and Matthew, named her Chloe Hope Valerie.
But that hope might never have been. Nicola explained this week that she and Matthew and other close relatives had been standing close to the centre of the explosion. She was due to give birth the following week.
"We were standing at the Kozy Corner when the bomb went off. I got a cut to my left leg and my ear drums were damaged. Michael, my mother and my aunts were also hurt," she said.
The family members went to the accident and emergency department at Tyrone County Hospital, where staff quickly reassured them they could detected the unborn baby's heartbeat.
"It was a great relief to us all. I was knocked off my feet by the blast and my first thought was for the baby. An explosion can so easily kill an unborn child.
"They said there was a helicopter that would take me to another hospital, but when I knew the baby was all right I said to use it for someone who was badly hurt and my granddad took me in his car to the South Tyrone in Dungannon," Nicola continued.
Michael was also taken to the South Tyrone, and he was in a ward upstairs when Chloe was born in the maternity unit.
Chloe was born five days after the blast, and quickly cards, flowers and Teddy Bears poured in from well-wishers.
"So many of them said we should call the baby 'Hope' and we decided to add that to her name," added Nicola.
Chloe is a happy and very outgoing young girl, who showed no reservations in mixing with her new school friends this week.
Nicola says that Chloe is too young to really know what the bomb meant, but some day she will show her the scrapbook that she kept from those early days in hospital.
And now that she has started nursery school, Chloe has another big day to look forward to, for she will be flowergirl when Nicola and Michael marry on St. Valentine's Day next year.
By David Killen
A YOUNG girl who brought a ray of hope to the dark days that followed Omagh's bomb atrocity opened another chapter in the story of a life when she started nursery school this week.
Chloe Emery was born just five days after the blast, in which her mother was injured.
Now just turned four, she was this week happily getting a gentle introduction to the world of education in the nursery unit at Omagh Integrated Primary School.
Her birth, on August 20 1998, was seen as a sign of hope. Indeed her parents, Nicola and Matthew, named her Chloe Hope Valerie.
But that hope might never have been. Nicola explained this week that she and Matthew and other close relatives had been standing close to the centre of the explosion. She was due to give birth the following week.
"We were standing at the Kozy Corner when the bomb went off. I got a cut to my left leg and my ear drums were damaged. Michael, my mother and my aunts were also hurt," she said.
The family members went to the accident and emergency department at Tyrone County Hospital, where staff quickly reassured them they could detected the unborn baby's heartbeat.
"It was a great relief to us all. I was knocked off my feet by the blast and my first thought was for the baby. An explosion can so easily kill an unborn child.
"They said there was a helicopter that would take me to another hospital, but when I knew the baby was all right I said to use it for someone who was badly hurt and my granddad took me in his car to the South Tyrone in Dungannon," Nicola continued.
Michael was also taken to the South Tyrone, and he was in a ward upstairs when Chloe was born in the maternity unit.
Chloe was born five days after the blast, and quickly cards, flowers and Teddy Bears poured in from well-wishers.
"So many of them said we should call the baby 'Hope' and we decided to add that to her name," added Nicola.
Chloe is a happy and very outgoing young girl, who showed no reservations in mixing with her new school friends this week.
Nicola says that Chloe is too young to really know what the bomb meant, but some day she will show her the scrapbook that she kept from those early days in hospital.
And now that she has started nursery school, Chloe has another big day to look forward to, for she will be flowergirl when Nicola and Michael marry on St. Valentine's Day next year.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1112
Published Date: 05-Sep-02
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