Brothers Open Hospital Room in Memory of Sibling

Westfield brothers Trevor, 14, and Nathaniel, 7, McNamara together cut the silver ribbon to room 310 at Goryeb Children’s Hospital in Morristown. Framed by a bright green doorway, the room is named after their late brother, Liam Hayden McNamara, who was Nathaniel’s twin who passed away at 16 months.

Both brothers added a personal touch to the new room. On the wall outside the room is a framed collection of paintings by Nathaniel’s kindergarten class at Westfield YMCA Bauer Branch. Nathaniel is now in second grade.

Trevor, along with his classmates at Morristown Beard High School, painted the clouds for the wall mural in the bathroom of Liam’s Room. 

Liam was diagnosed with an incurable and devastating neurological condition called Lissencephaly (Miller-Dieker Syndrome). From the family’s experience with going in and out of hospitals, parents Lisa and Peter McNamara started the non-profit Liam’s Room to push for pediatric palliative care through creating more home-like inpatient hospital rooms.

“As you can imagine, today is a bittersweet day for our family,” said Lisa McNamara. “We are proud to be opening our second Liam’s Room. However, it’s another reminder of what we have lost to take pride in what we have gained … it makes us very proud that we were chosen to be his parents. He left his mark with us and now we’re continuing to leave his mark with other people.”

The unveiling began with a few quick remarks from those involved, followed by a ribbon cutting and tours of Liam’s Room. During her speech, Lisa McNamara stopped to happily say that she was just told that Liam’s room would have its first patient tomorrow.

The first Liam’s Room opened on May 15, 2009 at Overlook Medical Center in Summit where Liam was treated. On Wednesday the McNamaras unveiled the second Liam’s Room at Goryeb. This is the first pediatric palliative care room at the Morristown hospital and will serve as a home away from home for children who frequent the hospital due to potentially life-limiting illnesses. 

“I think that it’s great. It’s nice and big. There’s a couple of couches and there’s the curtain so in case a child needs some help, he can keep his family nearby,” said Trevor. “It means a lot (to keep Liam’s name alive) and knowing that … other families don’t have to suffer while (their child) is here.”

Like the first Liam’s Room, this one has a beach theme with fish in the wall artwork, a painted mural of a sandy beach and wispy clouds in the bathroom, and marine and beach images in the bed’s quilt and the couches’ throw pillows.

“Liam was here for a purpose. We realized what that was in the short amount of time we had with him,” said Peter McNamara. “Looking around the room, the theme of care, love and hope is evident here. Families can close the door and feel comfortable in the setting they’re in …”

Outside the room’s door is a sign that reads: “Donated by Liam’s Room, A Place for Care, Love and Hope, In Loving Memory of Liam Hayden McNamara.”

“(The room) It’s really pretty and cool and fun,” said Nathaniel. “(I like) everything, but mostly the sky above the bed.”

On the ceiling over the bed is an illuminated panel of clouds. There’s a full bathroom with shower, two couches (one of which is a pull-out), a pull-out chair, TV, Xbox 360, movies, games, a mini fridge and more amenities to make the room more home-like. The beach theme was chosen because it was non-gender specific, nor age specific.         

“As we began the journey for caring for Liam, we began to realize that there must be a better way to integrate this responsibility with continuing to be a mom, a dad, a brother, a sister … there were so many facets of everyday life that seemed to have to be sacrificed in order to provide the best medical care. Why couldn’t a family have a comfortable home-like place to stay while spending countless hours in a hospital?” said Lisa McNamara. “You never forget that you’re in the hospital, but it’s nice to be able to close the door and kind of pretend that you’re not there for a little while. I think the environment in this room captures that.”

“This marks a big day for us,” said Dr. Colin O’Reilly, D.O., Pediatric Critical Care, Goryeb Children’s Hospital. “This is a big point of success for the pediatric palliative care program and that success is (thanks to) the Liam’s Room foundation.”

He added that Liam’s room also educates hospital staff in the field of pediatric palliative care.

Dr. Walter Rosenfeld, Chairman, Department of Pediatrics, Goryeb Children’s Hospital, added that the rooms at this children’s hospital are quite comfortable, but Liam’s room “goes a step further than even a room designed for children.” He said that this room was designed with the family in mind as well.

“This is also for children who are here month after month for a week at a time. It makes it more tolerable. There’s a fridge for the family to bring items from home. There’s a closet over here for clothes,” he said. He then walked over to open what looked like a normal bedroom cabinet. “Even the medical connections are hidden. This is a high-tech room in disguise.”