Family of Ethan Hargreaves to host balloon 13th birthday memorial

The nine-year-old Mackie Hill School pupil was found unresponsive by his mum Lisa and dad James when they went to check on him at their Wakefield home on the morning of November 25 2019.

He was not breathing and had no pulse and although the pair performed CPR until paramedics arrived 10 minutes later, he could not be revived.

Initially there was no obvious cause of death and it was not until months later that the family finally discovered he had a rare heart condition which sadly ended his life.

Tomorrow (Saturday), on what would have been Ethan’s 13th birthday, his family and friends will gather at Sandal Castle and “send balloons to heaven” in his memory.

Lisa said: “Every year we have celebrated Ethan’s birthday in style with balloons with the help of our lovely friends and family.

"Ethan loved balloons and birthday decorations. He would challenge me every year to create a theme of his choosing.

"I love that we continue to celebrate his birthday this way."

Lisa said the celebrations not only remember Ethan, but helps his two brothers, Josh, now 16 and Noah, nine and sister Harper, seven.

"Ethan’s birthday balloons really do help them through their grief, especially the younger two.

"They get so excited to send balloons to heaven for him and genuinely believe that Ethan receives them."

The memorial release will be held at Sandal Castle tomorrow, Saturday, August 5, meeting at 3.15pm.

"We’ve always had such wonderful support from our community and hopefully the weather will be on our side.”

Lisa added that in the interest of keeping it as environmentally friendly as possible, she will be providing the balloons.

“We also light up his life every year in November,” she said.

"Ethan couldn’t get enough of Christmas and particularly loved the lights!

"On November 25, instead of marking the anniversary of his passing, we light up his life with as many Christmas lights as possible.

"It marks the start of Christmas in our house and is a magical way of keeping his memory alive.”

Everyone is welcome along to Sandal Castle tomorrow and it’s hoped Ethan’s friends will also release a balloon.

"It’s hard to believe that all of Ethan’s friends are all so grown up now, heading for Year 9!

"It would be amazing to see you all again if you can make it. The love and support we receive for these occasions is always truly wonderful, I will be forever grateful to be surrounded by such beautiful people.”