Connacht Tribune
Top golfer helps out Galway woman’s quest for Lyme Disease cure
One of the world’s top golfers has rallied to the aid of a young Galway woman — because he himself is suffering from the same disease.
Major winner Jimmy Walker has sent an autographed official PGA flag to help support a golf Am Am event to raise funds for Headford woman Nicola Lavin so she can receive potentially life-changing stem cell therapy for Lyme Disease.
Nicola contracted Lyme Disease sixteen years ago in the US and her health has been ravaged by it ever since, including enduring serious heart failure.
Walker, a six-time victor on the PGA Tour, and winner of his first major, the PGA Championship, in 2016, revealed in April that he, too, is suffering from Lyme Disease.
“It feels like you’ve got the flu,” he said. “No strength. Just got nothing. And it comes and goes in waves. You never know when it’s going to pop up.” As a consequence, the Texan’s form has shown a dramatic slump this season.
Lyme disease is a debilitating illness caused by bacteria as a result of a tick bite. Symptoms include fatigue, fever, heart issues, chronic joint pain, and in some cases, paralysis, arthritis and neurological disorders.
Walker’s wife, Erin, became aware on social media of the fundraiser in aid of Nicola to take place at Ballinrobe Golf Club on Thursday, August 31 (tee times from 8am) and volunteered to get her husband to sign some official PGA memorabilia to support the event.
“She was really helpful,” says Nicola’s husband Ronan. “She empathised with all Nicola has been through and recognised many of the symptoms that she shares with Jimmy. In particular, she related to the amount of medication involved — Jimmy is on 30 tablets a day.”
Ronan points out that the Ballinrobe Am Am should have particular resonance for golfers as they are one of the categories of people most at risk from tick-borne Lyme Disease which has become increasingly prevalent in Ireland.
Lyme Disease has a host of symptoms and affects people in different ways. It is easily cured through antibiotics if diagnosed early, but becomes a major problem if not treated.
Common initial symptoms include pain, weakness, or numbness in the arms or legs; not being able to use the muscles of the face; continuing headaches; fainting; and poor memory and reduced ability to concentrate.
Nicola’s condition deteriorated progressively over the years as a series of consultants were baffled by her condition until a German laboratory last year confirmed her diagnosis of Lyme Disease.
Lyme has become so embedded in her system that traditional treatments have proved ineffective. Her only hope now to regain her health and strength, and to lead a normal life, rests with the stem cell therapy which has a high success ratio.
However, the cost of the pioneering treatment and the required stay in Germany is beyond Nicola’s means as she has been unable to work for some considerable time now due to the scale of her illness.
The golf Am Am at Ballinrobe features a host of attractive prizes for the winners, including two nights B&B and a round of golf on each of the two championship links for two people at the luxury 4-star Rosapenna Hotel and Golf Resort in Donegal; a night’s stay for two in a Courtyard Room in Donald Trump’s Doonbeg resort, a night for two with dinner in the exclusive Ballyseede Castle, Tralee and an Enniscrone Golf Club fourball worth over €400.
In addition to the Walker-signed PGA flag, a highly-coveted autographed Ireland rugby jersey will be among a series of attractive prizes to be raffled on the day.
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
