Connacht Tribune
Charity walk to help families of sick children
As a family who availed of the Ronald McDonald House facility beside Crumlin Children’s Hospital for long stretches in the past, the Conneelys of Headford dearly missed it when forced to return to a different Dublin hospital last year – so now they’re raising money for the relatives of other young patients to enjoy a little comfort away from home.
Aideen, now aged twelve, was diagnosed in 2010 with myelodysplastic syndrome, a condition where the bone marrow does not make enough healthy blood cells. She underwent a bone marrow transplant in 2011 but due to complications spent several years in hospital. She developed GVHD (graft versus host disease) which left her with Bronchiectasis in her lungs and very prone to infections.
Their lengthy spells away from home were made that bit easier by being accommodated in the Ronald McDonald House attached to Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin. To date 325 Galway families have availed of the accommodation; last year alone there were 28 from across Galway.
Mum Rosie recalls that they had private quarters, would have meals cooked for them and were able to bring Aideen out of the ward for periods when she was feeling better. Aideen’s older siblings, Darragh and Rachael, would come join them at weekends so they could continue some level of family normalcy.
To stay in a family en suite room they paid €10 a night.
Aideen’s condition stabilised for a long time. In 2016 the family were flown to Los Angeles where she designed and made her very own Barbie doll in a trip of a lifetime organised by the Make-A-Wish Ireland charity.
They were treated to ten days of pure bliss, visiting Disney World, Universal Studios and Warner Brothers – as well as being gifted every imaginable Barbie accessory.
Last year Aideen developed sinusitis, which doctors believe was a complication of her weakened lungs. She spent almost six months in Dublin, where she underwent two brain surgeries and infection washouts. She moved between Temple Street Children’s Hospital and Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin.
“We had to go between the hospitals for different specialities but were based at Temple Street where the canteen shuts down at 2pm – there was nowhere for families to eat,” recalls Rosie.
“We were on a ward with a lot of emergencies so it was a scary place for siblings or small kids. The doctors and nurses and staff are brilliant but the facilities are just so old.”
As they were not based at the Crumlin hospital they could not access the Ronald McDonald House. Although they were glad to receive it, the parents’ accommodation at Temple Street was very basic and fairly cramped.
The Ronald McDonald House Charity is now trying to raise €17 million for a new 53-bedroom house to be built adjacent to the new children’s hospital at St James Hospital by 2022.
And Rosie has recruited the services of the Headford No Name Club – where her teenagers Darragh and Rachael are members – to join brave Aideen on the local fundraising drive.
Darragh was a finalist in the No Name Club’s National Youth Awards at which he was interviewed by former Rose of Tralee Maria Walsh. Maria has now agreed to officially open the Walk4Families 5K Walk – the major annual fundraising event for the Ronald McDonald House – in Headford on Sunday, October 7.
It will be leaving from St Fursey’s Hall where registration takes place from 12.30pm
Judith Higgins will provide the music while McDonalds are sponsoring goodie bags, ice cream vouchers, face painting and meal vouchers. There will be a disco and refreshments back at the hall where a raffle will take place. Among the prizes will be a Connacht Rugby jersey signed by former captain John Muldoon.
Registration is €10 per adult, €20 per family.
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
