The “Big Bang Theory” star was so moved by Oscar Keogh’s story that she became friends with the family and vowed to help children living with cancer
In a new series, Live Beautifully with Clarins, we spotlight the Irish business owners, creators or activists who are making a difference. Here, we chat to Yav and Lar Keogh, founders of childhood cancer charity Oscar’s Kids.
For those who aren’t aware, can you share the story of how Oscar’s Kids came to be?
“Our beautiful son Oscar was diagnosed with a terminal form of brain tumour called DIPG in 2018 when he was just three and a half. On the day of his diagnosis, we were told Oscar had anything from a couple of months to a couple of years to live and in that moment our lives changed forever. What followed in the 19 months that Oscar lived with cancer was both the worst and best time of our lives. Nothing can ever prepare you for the complete and utter devastation of losing your child. But in our shock, sadness and fear, we decided it had to be beautiful because it would encompass all the time we would ever have together as a family.
“Oscar’s life deserved to be magic and it had been up until his diagnosis, so that was our focus for every day we had together. For every hard moment there was a fun one, for every tear, giggles and cuddles. We had Christmas Day every month, family holidays, half birthdays and cards from around the world. Toys, treats and videos from Oscar’s favourite celebrities. Most of all, the three of us had each other and that was all that mattered. When Oscar died just a month after he turned five, we knew Oscar had beaten cancer in his own way in how he lived each day and in our darkest grief we wanted to create a legacy in his name so that other children diagnosed with terminal cancer had every opportunity to focus on living with cancer, not dying with cancer. Oscar was so much greater than his illness and so are the other wonderful children we get to support now through his charity.”
The charity has another strand in the US – supported by US TV star Melissa Rauch, who Oscar adored. Tell us more about this connection.
“We are lucky enough to call Melissa one of our greatest friends and also family, even though we haven’t met in person yet! What started as a once-off request to get her autograph for Oscar blossomed into this incredibly special friendship. Melissa was so touched by Oscar’s story that she kept in touch continually, coming to know him and us as a family and it was her idea to start a charity in the US in his honour.
“We are two separate charities but both have the same goal to enrich and better the lives of children with cancer. We know Oscar would be so proud to know his friend Melissa loves him so much and helps other children like him in his honour.”
What is your mission as a charity?
“We look after children with a terminal/palliative cancer diagnosis and our goal is to be with a family through their entire cancer journey and beyond into grief. We run the charity completely ourselves, and very hands-on, and so we come to know our members as part of a big Oscar’s Kids family. That’s why we call ourselves Oscar’s Kids Club; we are a virtual club of connected families all around the island. We offer ongoing practical, fun and emotional support and we’re very much led by what a family needs, and how often. We give financial aid for so many things including various bills, treatment costs abroad, fuel, parking and hotel costs for families travelling to hospitals, and although it’s a very heartbreaking thing to mention, we help with funeral costs for our beloved members when a family allows us.
“The fun support we take as seriously as the practical side of things: it’s all about what makes a kid smile. Celebrity videos, meet and greets, holidays, days out, toys and treats, basically whatever a child can think of. We also have a wonderful new partnership with Dublin Fire Brigade called Oscar District, which means our members can become honorary firefighters and paramedics and go to stations, which is huge fun and is a case of heroes meeting heroes. Our bereaved families are also a hugely important part of our charity and once a family is part of Oscar’s Kids, they always are, and are remembered for children’s birthdays and anniversaries, and Mother’s and Father’s Day. As a small charity only running a few years, we have such wonderful support from the public as well as from companies around Ireland who believe in us. One such partnership this year which has been so rewarding and beneficial has been with Clarins Ireland. They’ve been incredible in not just donating money to aid our work, but giving their time, interest and passion into helping improve the lives of our families this year.
“All we want to do is help light up the darkness for other families walking the same path we did. We are all here for a brief and beautiful journey in this world and it is our duty to leave it a better place than we found it. Oscar did that in just five years and we endeavour to continue that legacy as a family.”
