Comedian and actor Rob Delaney opened up on Wednesday about spending his first Christmas without his young son, Henry, who died in January.
"Our first Christmas without Henry came & went," the Catastrophe star wrote on Twitter. "The day itself was okay, maybe because there were so many horrible, painful days leading up to it; we must have hit our quota or something. We talked about him a lot & included his memory throughout the day."
Delaney told fans in February that his 2-year-old son had died in January from cancer after having a brain tumor removed. "Henry was a joy," he wrote at the time. "He was smart, funny, and mischievous and we had so many wonderful adventures together, particularly after he'd moved home following fifteen months living in hospitals."
Earlier this month, Delaney had revealed he had been dreading his first Christmas without his son.
"My boys & I tell each other about our Henry dreams most mornings," he wrote on Twitter on Dec. 6. "I’m dreading Christmas. If it weren’t for them I would tell Christmas to get fucked this year."
In June, Delaney also opened up about his first Father's Day since Henry died.
This is the first Father’s Day since my beautiful Henry died. Love today to all dads & moms who’ve lost a child.🦉
Following his tweets on Wednesday, celebrities like Mia Farrow and others offered their condolences to Delaney and his family during this tough time.
Parents whose own children had died also reached out to Delaney to let him know he wasn't alone.
@robdelaney Love to you and your family
@robdelaney Sending you all the love in the world, Rob.
@robdelaney I lost my son a year and a half ago to pediatric brain cancer, and the first Christmas without him was agony. It doesn’t get ‘better’, or ‘easier,’ but you learn to live with the pain and grief and adjust to its rhythms. Hope you have lots of loving people around to help.
@robdelaney It is so hard isn’t it? Our son died in 2011 and every Christmas Day is difficult but somehow we get through it too. xx
Delaney told fans he was open about his pain because he wanted to "destigmatize grief."
"Tweets like this aren’t therapeutic to me, nor are they 'updates,'" he wrote. "I just want other bereaved parents & siblings to feel seen/heard/respected/loved. And maybe they might help someone not schooled in grief support a friend better. I don’t know."
My sweet boy