“Cora, Dawson, and Callan, you gave me so much in your short time here ... Dada loves you so much and will always remember you," the letter Patrick Clancy posted on GoFundMe read.
Massachusetts mom Lindsay Clancy’s husband is begging the public to forgive his wife following the deaths of their three young children.
In a moving weekend update on GoFundMe, Patrick Clancy shared some insight into his own forgiveness of his wife and requested the public do the same.
“She’s recently been portrayed largely by people who have never met her and never knew who the real Lindsay was,” Patrick wrote. “I want to ask all of you that you find it deep within yourselves to forgive Lindsay, as I have. The real Lindsay was generously loving and caring towards everyone - me, our kids, family, friends, and her patients. The very fibers of her soul are loving. All I wish for her now is that she can somehow find peace."
In the long update, Patrick wrote about how they fell in “love at first sight” and how he felt “lucky to have her in [his] life.” He continued to explain that “our marriage was wonderful and diametrically grew stronger as her condition worsened,” and they “mutually understood the reality that people can have bad days.”
“We stuck to the rule that when one of us got lost, the other was always there to bring them home, always,” Patrick wrote.
"She loved being a nurse, but nothing matched her intense love for our kids and dedication to being a mother," he wrote of Lindsay. "It was all she ever wanted. Her passion taught me how to be a better father."
Patrick also wrote about their children: 5-year-old Cora, who had an "infectious laugh,” 3-year-old Dawson, who was “always willing to share his toys with others,” and 8-month-old Callan, “our easy going child.”
"Callan died with enormous courage despite being so little," he wrote of his youngest child. "Maybe it was his way of demonstrating what I need to do to press forward. I’ll always try to draw inspiration from him. He’ll always be my little hero."
"Cora, Dawson, and Callan were the essence of my life and I’m completely lost without them," he wrote. "They gave me purpose and I never took it for granted. There is now a massive void where that purpose once was."
At a vigil for the family last week, community members also paid tribute to the children. Cora's soccer coach remembered her as "a happy little girl running around, learning and having fun," according to the Patriot Ledger.
Rev. Robert J. Deehan led the community in a prayer that included Lindsay, who he said is afflicted with "overwhelming mental illness," the Patriot Ledger reported.
Neither Deehan in his prayer, nor Patrick Clancy in his post to GoFundMe, specified what Lindsay is suffering from.
Her friends have said she is believed to have been struggling with postpartum depression and was attending an intensive, five-day-a-week treatment program, according to radio host John DePetro. WBZ I-Team reported that sources said she may have been suffering from postpartum psychosis.
While postpartum depression is a long-lasting form of depression that can start during pregnancy and continue after childbirth, postpartum psychosis is an extreme mood disorder that can develop after childbirth, according to the Mayo Clinic. Postpartum psychosis is a reversible but severe mental health condition that is rare and dangerous. The two main symptoms of postpartum psychosis are hallucinations and delusions.
Other symptoms include mood changes, such as mania, hypomania, or depression, insomnia, depersonalization, which some people describe as an out-of-body experience, and thoughts of self-harm or harming others, especially their newborn, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Patrick had reportedly only left his and Lindsay's Duxbury home for a few minutes to pick up take out for dinner when he returned to find she had allegedly strangled their three children and injured herself before attempting to take her own life, according to reports.
“There’s absolutely nothing that can prepare you. The shock and pain is excruciating and relentless,” Patrick wrote in the GoFundMe.
Cora and Dawson died at a local area hospital shortly after the Tuesday evening incident, and Callan died Friday morning at the Boston Children’s Hospital after battling for his life for several days, authorities said.
“Cora, Dawson, and Callan, you gave me so much in your short time here,” Patrick wrote in the update, addressing his kids. “I don’t know if the pain will ever go away, but I’ll do my best to carry on in your honor. Dada loves you so much and will always remember you.”
Lindsay’s current condition is unknown, but she was still hospitalized as of Friday, the Boston Globe reported. During the Thursday evening vigil, Deehan said Lindsay was facing serious injuries and continued to be in critical condition, according to the Patriot Ledger.
Lindsay is expected to face eight charges, including two counts of murder, three counts of strangulation or suffocation, and three counts of abuse and battery with dangerous weapon, according to an arrest warrant obtained by the Boston Herald. Authorities have not said whether she will face additional charges following the death of her infant.
Her arraignment is not currently scheduled, a spokesperson with the district attorney’s office told the Boston Globe.
