RUTLAND — A public wake is scheduled for Ciara Sullivan, the 30-year-old wife of Rutland firefighter Patrick Sullivan, and her twin infants, who passed away nearly two weeks after a medical emergency led to a C-section at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.
The Rutland Regional Emergency Communication Center has announced that a public walk-through will be held on Saturday, January 4, 2024, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at Miles Funeral Home, located at 1158 Main Street, Holden.
“There will be a uniformed public safety walk-through at 1:00 p.m.,” the Rutland Regional Emergency Communication Center said on Facebook. “Those wishing to participate should meet at Wachusett Regional High School, 1401 Main Street, Holden, at 12:00 p.m. Buses will transport participants to the funeral home at 12:45 p.m. Thank you for your support during this difficult time.”
(Photo Credits: Rutland Regional Emergency Communication Center)
Patrick Sullivan shared on Facebook that on December 16, 2024, his wife Ciara, who was pregnant with twins, suffered a medical emergency and was intubated at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.
Following an emergency C-section, their prematurely born twins were placed on ventilators. The Rutland Regional Emergency Communication Center reported in a Facebook post that the prognosis for the twins was grim.
“I can’t explain the total and utter devastation, anger, rage, and loss I feel that this unnecessary tragedy has brought me,” Patrick Sullivan said in a Facebook post. “What I can explain is how truly blessed I am to have the outpouring of support from my community, my brothers, my family, and the hospital staff. The NICU [Neonatal Intensive Care Unit] and SICU [Surgical Intensive Care Unit] nurses and doctors made this nightmare a little more bearable.”
On the evening of Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, a vigil was held in support of the family on the Rutland Town Common.
In addition to an outpouring of support for the Sullivan family on Facebook, a fundraiser, organized by the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts Charitable Trust on behalf of the Sullivan family, has raised $145,619 as of January 1, 2024.
Patrick’s colleagues, who were among the first to respond to Ciara’s 911 call, were deeply affected by the scene.
“It broke my heart to hear my fellow firefighter crying and yelling while his wife was lying on the front steps,” a colleague of Patrick’s told Boston 25 News.
According to the Rutland Regional Emergency Communication Center, Patrick Sullivan has been a dispatch supervisor and firefighter/EMT for the Town of Rutland for 13 years.
The Rutland Fire Department described Ciara as a “dedicated public servant,” noting her previous positions as a 911 dispatcher and an emergency management specialist for FEMA.
Donations can be made to the family’s fundraiser here.
