Connacht Tribune
Galway toddler owes her life to volunteer blood bike delivery service
Every baby is a little miracle – but Juliet Smith was already that even before she was born…thanks in no small way to a voluntary blood delivery service in her native Galway.
Juliet was born on September 23, 2014 at University Hospital, Galway – but her story was already well underway by then. For a start, at that point, she was Ireland’s most scanned baby according, to her mother Gabrielle.
That’s because Juliet had a condition that threatened to take her before she was born; a condition so rare that it was described as one-in-a-million. Gabrielle was told that her baby might not survive and that she should prepare for the worst.
The condition was Rhesus iso-immunisation – where, in essence, Gabrielle’s blood type was Rhesus negative and her baby was Rhesus positive.
This isn’t an uncommon situation and can be dealt with in nearly all cases with an infusion of anti-d – but in Gabrielle’s case her antibody levels were so high that the medical staff dealing with her said they had never levels like them in anybody.
Little Juliet had fluid around her lungs and heart and despite reacting positively to an initial infusion of blood at around twenty weeks her condition started to deteriorate again.
A second infusion was administered and again there was an improvement followed by a decline. It was at this stage that the medical staff in the Rotunda, where Gabrielle was receiving treatment, believed that little Juliet probably wouldn’t make it.
“The news was devastating, even though it was expected to a certain extent,” Gabrielle said. “She received five transfusions in all but it wasn’t until the third transfusion came from Galway that we then had some real hope.”
That transfusion came via Blood Bikes from Galway – and Mike Carty was on the motorbike that day.
“We knew that this little baby was in a serious condition and that there was a chance that she might not make it, even with the transfusion,” he said.
“But we felt that if there was the slightest chance that the blood that we were going to deliver would save her we were going to deliver it no matter what.”
And deliver it they did! Juliet’s condition improved and continued to improve as she grew steadily stronger.
“We knew after a few weeks then that she would be fine,” a delighted Gabrielle said. “We were able to come to Galway for the birth at 34 weeks which was great.”
Little Juliet is now living in Bearna with parents Gabrielle and Alan, and her older sister Ava – and as Mom says: “she’s flying it.”
Gabrielle and Alan are quick to acknowledge how indebted they will always be to the Blood Bikes crew for playing a part in saving the life of their little girl.
“We can’t say enough good things about them or praise them enough. They are a fantastic group and we will be forever grateful to them.”
And they’re not the only ones – because Blood Bikes help save lives every day with their voluntary delivery service.
One of their three bikes is called Juliet, joining Sophie and Tom in saving lives by delivering blood supplies for free to places quicker than even the emergency services could manage.
To help fund this vital emergency service, there will be a charity event in aid of Bike Fest West in the Galway Plaza today (Sunday).
The Monster Bike Exhibition, Family Funday and Charity Run will also include an appearance from Galway’s world-renowned charity stunt rider, Mattie Griffin.
Registration is from 9am and the Bike Run departs at 11am sharp, returning to the Plaza for the start of the Fun Day at 1.30pm.
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
