Connacht Tribune
Setbacks fail to halt Liam’s momentum
Liam Mac an tSaoi has changed schools, joining an autism unit in Creggs National School where he is being taught in a class with just five children.
The move is the latest in Liam’s rapid progress since he returned home to Galway having spent nearly four years of his life in hospital.
The Clonberne boy was diagnosed with autism before Christmas. His mam Louise said he was lost in a classroom with 22 pupils.
“He couldn’t cope with being in Clonberne School at all, it was just too loud for him after being in isolation for so long, without any other kids around,” she said.
“It was proving too upsetting for him and it wasn’t fair to keep him there.
“He was playing beside the children and not with them and the teachers didn’t know what he was taking in,” she added
While the family were sad to see him leaving the school where his two brothers were educated and where Louise spent 15 years employed as school secretary, they were also delighted he would be getting specialised attention at the sunshine class of Creggs National School.
“Since after St Patrick’s Day, he is being taught in a class of five children and can access the mainstream classroom for his phonics, table top work, maths and socialising,” she explained.
So far, his educational experience has already seen him make great strides.
Liam can spell out his name on a magnetic board – a feat few thought possible when he first became a pupil last year. He knows his numbers and letters and can recognise words.
In May, he spent three nights in hospital to see if he could be weaned off the ventilator at night.
He lasted one night and had to be put back on the machine to help him breathe after he became exhausted.
“His lungs just aren’t ready yet to go it alone but he did one great night which is one night more than the last test.
“They had told me he would always need the ventilator.
“He’s completely off it during the day now,” his mom recalled.
Liam can now take a spoon from the bowl to his mouth and feed himself a full meal.
But there have also been setbacks.
His medical team discovered that his femur on his amputated leg had stopped growing, probably because the growth plates were damaged at amputation.
Doing nothing would mean he could get curvature of the spine.
Louise said they had considered sending him for a series of limb lengthening operations in Bristol so that he could keep his knee joint which would make it easier for him to get future prosthesis.
But after hearing the pain would be excruciating, they have opted now for a second amputation, which will likely happen before Christmas.
Liam continues to communicate through Lámh sign language or though his iPad.
He attends school with the help of a Special Needs Assistant and a transport escort while at night he still has a nurse care for him.
Louise has given up her job to care for Liam as well as her husband Sean, 54, who was diagnosed with Pick’s Disease, a rare condition that causes progressive and irreversible dementia.
Throughout it all, Louise is remaining her usual upbeat self.
“I’m getting all the help I need with Liam, he’s very stable since he started school, he’s thriving.
“I’m caring for Sean with the help of my sons Fiachna and Sean. You just have to deal with what life throws at you,” she said.
Liam was kept in hospital for nearly four years due to the lack of homecare and equipment available to facilitate his discharge.
He finally made it home to Clonberne in June 2015 when a package with full-time nursing care was approved after his plight became public.
Born on September 19, 2010 at 23 weeks’ gestation and weighing under a pound, Liam was given an hour to live.
He underwent his first operation of many just three weeks later when he weighed 488g.
He had 27 blood transfusions, an amputation following a bowel infection, laser eye surgery, a tracheostomy, gastrostomy and a colostomy after infections and bowel blockages.
Indeed his parents were told he would be blind, deaf and have severe Cerebral Palsy.
He is currently managing to live with Chronic Lung Disease and PKU, a condition in which the body cannot break down one of the amino acids found in proteins that is in almost all foods.
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
