Galway mum loses her battle

A mother whose health dramatically deteriorated while on an overseas family holiday last Christmas has died in Mexico.

Oranmore resident Julia McAndrew had initially had very positive results while undergoing treatment for Stage 4 breast cancer after her family appealed for help with medical expenses in order to get her stable enough to return home.

But her condition declined rapidly from Friday morning until her death last Sunday afternoon.

“It is still quite hard to process this moment…we still feel shocked,” her son Patrick and daughter Eliska revealed on their fundraising page.

“She was so deeply and dearly loved, and we had so much hope and faith that she would be back to full health and well enough to return to Ireland within a couple of months, but that wasn’t her path and we accept that.

“We are so, so proud of her and the strength, grace and positivity she has shown throughout this journey.”

The siblings thanked members of the public for their generosity in raising €76,000 as well as their messages of support.

“It is thanks to each and every one of you that she was able to receive great treatment and we as a family were able to be fully present to care for her without worrying about the financial burden of her treatment.”

Read the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now – or you can download a digital copy of the paper from www.connachttribune.ie