Is this the unluckiest family in Ireland?
David and Samantha Parkes with their children Shane, Shona and baby Jake
THEY are beginning to fear they are Ireland's unluckiest family. The Parkes, from Mornington in Co Kildare, have seen every member taken ill or involved in an accident during the past three weeks.
First, father-of-three David broke his leg after falling down the stairs while holding his one-year-old baby Jake in his arms.
His wife Samantha then broke her toe after answering the door to the ambulance services.
And the couple's run of bad luck was topped off when their children were hospitalised after contracting a severe vomiting bug -- all within the space of three weeks.
Mr Parkes said: "It's been one disaster after another. First, I fell down the stairs while holding my one-year-old baby, Jake, dislocating my foot and breaking both my ankles and my leg. When the ambulance arrived, my wife, Samantha, tripped on the duvet and broke her toe and severed a nail.
"And when my wife was in hospital having an operation on her foot, my son Jake contracted a very severe chest infection and was admitted to hospital. So the three of us were lying up in bed at the same time in hospital.
"It went from bad to worse when my other two children, Shane (5) and Shona (2), caught the vomiting bug. It really is incredible how this all happened in 21 days."
Then the family's run of bad luck turned slightly bizarre when an electrical fault in the house resulted in the television, toaster and kettle all going on the blink.
Mr Parkes is now worrying about paying the mortgage and mounting A&E bills.
"I'm on crutches at the moment and stuck in the house 24/7. We asked for a three month reprieve on the mortgage but the banks wouldn't have it," he said.
- Mark O'Regan
Irish Independent
