Connacht Tribune
Charity provides respite and key supports to carers in need
For the past 41 years, Carol Graham has been a dedicated carer for her son Damien.
As one of the thousands of family carers who provide vital care for a loved one, Carol, who lives in Ballybane in Galway City, says it’s a role she does with love and despite its challenges, “I wouldn’t change it for the world”.
But there are times when she needs support which is not easy to come by, causing huge distress for her, and for her son Damien who has Down syndrome.
“I’ve been a carer for Damien since he was a baby. I’m on my own with him – it’s only me and him,” says Carol.
“I know I shouldn’t but I’m always thinking to myself that if something was to happen to me, what would happen to Damien. Who would look after him?”
Over the past two years, Carol’s own health difficulties left her requiring surgery on her back and hip, and as she faced into being admitted to hospital on both occasions, her son’s care needs were her absolute priority.
As she went in search of support from the HSE though, she was met with stories of staff shortages and inadequate resources – neither of which were any comfort to a worried mother who knew if she didn’t look after herself, she couldn’t care for her son.
It was then that she turned to Family Carers Ireland, a charity that supports 500,000 people like Carol across the country with a variety of services including emergency care planning, respite, peer support groups and counselling.
For Carol, it was their willingness to step into the breach and provide carers to help her and Damien while she recuperated from surgery that made all the difference.
“I had to have major surgery on my back and on my hip. I also have diabetes, and I’m not getting any younger,” says 62-year-old Carol.
“I’ve been a member of Family Carers Ireland for a long time, but I went to the HSE first to look for a carer to help me, but they told me I’d have to be 65 before I could get that.
“It was then that I went to Family Carers Ireland and a lady called Mary came out to interview me. She couldn’t have been more helpful and they organised for two ladies to come out to us each day, one in the morning and one in the evening for two hours at a time,” she says.
Knowing that his mum was unwell was hugely distressing for Damien, says Carol, but having the support of those two carers was a huge comfort for both her and her son.
“Any time I went into hospital, Damien would cry and cry. We got some respite and he was alright for a few days, but then they’d ring because he was looking for his mum. Because it’s only the two of us, we’re very close.
“So many of his friends’ mums have passed away and that’s something he’s very afraid of. But the carers that came to us were so good and kind. Even though Family Carers said they were finding it very hard to get carers, they promised they wouldn’t leave me stuck,” says Carol.
“They rang nearly every day to make sure we were okay, and the carers they sent were just brilliant. To have them there, to get Damien up in the morning and dressed, to read him stories and to reassure him that I was getting better made such a difference.”
He was comfortable because he was at home, she says, “and it put me at ease because for those few hours, I knew I could rest”.
Being a family carer is rewarding, says Carol, but it can be difficult and isolating.
“It’s a constant, constant worry. Only for Family Carers, I don’t know what I would have done. If I won the lotto in the morning, I would give it to them for all they did for me”, she says.
As a charity, they are filling a gap that Carol believes is being missed by the State, and if carer hours were available to every family in a situation like hers, it would be life changing.
“Even if it was only for an hour, to talk or ask if there’s anything they can do . . . it really livens your day when you see them arriving.
“Damien goes to two centres – to Arts Alive in town from Monday to Friday and to another centre in Riverside on Friday. That gives me a rest. They close in the summer and it’s just me and him then.
“But a carer takes off a lot of the stress for you and stress is an awful thing. When it gets on top of you, you don’t have the energy to do anything. But when Damien gets home, he’s full of beans – he wants dinner, to go for a walk, to read stories,” says Carol.
A bit of extra support is huge, she adds, “because it’s hard to do it all on your own”.
“I know I’ve had a hard time with my health but I wouldn’t change Damien for the world – I love the bones of him,” says Carol.
Family Carers Ireland launched its Heart of Gold national fundraising day in Galway last Friday in the Menlo Park Hotel.
For the month of June, they are asking local businesses to host a workplace coffee morning or organise a fundraiser to support their work.
For more information or to register for a Heart of Gold pack, email galwaycarersupports@familycarers.ie.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
