Connacht Tribune
Galway mum is honoured for her dedication
A young Galway mother – honoured for her commitment to caring – has revealed her frustration over the lack of services for her nine-year-old son who suffers from a rare genetic disorder.
Martina Hynes from Tuam, who was last week named the Galway Family Carer of the Year, says that looking after young Joe is both rewarding – but, at the same time, frustrating because of the lack of support.
She said that she was honoured at having been chosen as the award winner having been nominated by close friend Noreen Ward who is also part of a sporting group that cater for children with needs on a weekend basis.
Martina and husband Dermot from Parkview Drive, Tuam, have – along with other young mothers with children who have challenging conditions – been campaigning for better and more frequent services from the HSE.
Joe was diagnosed with learning difficulties from an early age and was subject to epileptic fits until medication controlled this around a year ago.
While he is attending primary school in Tuam and is part of a local rugby programme for children with challenging conditions, he is full of the joys of life and is looking forward to what mum Martina hopes to be a normal life.
Joseph has SETD1B, a neurodevelopment disorder that includes absent seizures, global development delay, language delay, intellectual disability, autism as well as behavioural issues.
On one occasion, Joe was cycling from his home and wanted to turn a particular direction but was unable to do so and ended up in the middle of traffic on the main road. “He was very lucky,” admitted Martina, who is also the mother to seven-year-old Dylan.
She has subsequently discovered that there are only eight children in the country with Joe’s particular condition and this has intensified her demands for treatment and care for their child.
Martina was nominated by close pal Noreen Ward for the award and said that she was astounded that she was chosen. She added that it wasn’t something that she even contemplated on receiving.
“We just want Joe to have the treatment he deserves and that hopefully he can go on to live a normal life. It is very difficult for him but certainly more manageable with medication.
“However, the occupational therapy, physiotherapy, psychology and every other treatment he requires has not been available to him for the past two or three years because of Covid.
“That is when it becomes difficult as he desperately needs these services and there is nothing we can do to compensate,” Martina told The Connacht Tribune.
Martina cares for Joe while husband Dermot is a long-distance lorry driver in Dublin but they are hoping that the HSE can provide them with some assistance in the not too distant future.
“Martina is always there to support her friends, helps out at the local inclusion rugby club, and that nothing is too much for her,” said her nominator Noreen.
Joe is a member of the Little Rascals Rugby Club in Tuam which is for kids with physical and psychological challenges, and they were delighted when the then Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt paid them a visit for a training session.
“They will never forget that experience,” Martina recalls.
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
