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Ailing Irish kids get help in U.S.

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

By Pierce O’Reilly

At least 15 Irish children have had vital heart operations carried out in the United States in the last four months, at an average cost of $40,000, in a radical plan to beat the waiting-list crisis in Ireland.

A leading heart surgeon, Dr. Mark Redmond, of our Lady’s Hospital in Crumlin, drew up the plan to save the children’s lives. Now, Irish parents are calling on the Irish government to send more children abroad rather than place them on hospital waiting lists in Ireland.

Julie Daly, the mother of a 9-year-old girl who received treatment in the U.S, has called on the Irish government to save more lives by using the so-called "abroad hospital option."

Rebecca Daly of Ballyhooly, Co. Cork, underwent open-heart surgery at Johns Hopkins Children’s Hospital in Baltimore last March and has since been given a clean bill of health. Her mother said the surgery has resulted in a huge transformation in Rebecca, who now has the energy to run around and play with her siblings, Bethany and James.

"If she hadn’t undergone surgery in the U.S, she may still be on a list in some department office," Julie Daly said. "Instead, she’s now enjoying the summer holidays."

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Rebecca was one of six children who went to the U.S. for surgery as part of a Department of Health strategy to reduce the number of children on waiting lists. The costs for transportation and treatment are absorbed by the Irish government.

Rebecca’s case was somewhat unusual because her family are Jehovah’s Witnesses, which meant that obtaining a blood transfusion was not an option. A manufactured drug alternative was used during surgery. Julie Daly said that she was surprised Rebecca didn’t have to wait for months for surgery.

"We were told that there was a list and that it would be a three- to six-month wait," Julie Daly said. "We were quite shocked when they asked if we would go to Baltimore for surgery. Everybody was just so helpful and I would recommend it to anyone."

Rebecca’s operation involved six hours of surgery followed by three days in intensive care. Julie Daly’s comments come in the wake of criticism of the Department of Health due to a 27 percent increase in the numbers waiting for heart surgery at the children’s hospital in Crumlin. Congenital heart defects are thought to affect one in every 100 babies born in Ireland annually.

Meanwhile, in New York, three Irish children suffering from rare blood disorders are waiting for treatment. One of the children, Danny Mulvey, whose Irish grandparents, Frankie and Eileen Kehoe, are praying for a cure for his leukemia. They hope that a benefit at the Liffy II bar, 5009 Broadway, on Saturday, July 28, will raise funds and awareness for Danny’s condition.

For Aileen Fearon, despite a bone marrow drive in Woodside on July 1, an accurate donor match has yet to be found to counter the effects of her condition, known as aplastic anemia.

Her parents, Mike and Marie, from Counties Down and Armagh, are still hoping that a donor will be found — and the Aisling Irish Center in Yonkers will hold another bone marrow drive on Saturday, Aug. 4, from noon to 6 p.m. The Center is at 990 McLean Ave. in Yonkers.

Meanwhile, 2-year-old Rachel Grenham, from County Roscommon, has been a patient in Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City since June. Rachel is suffering from an as yet unidentified genetic blood disorder.

A benefit has been organized in West Roxbury, Mass., to help offset the costs of the medical care, on Friday, Sept. 21, from 8 p.m. to midnight at the Irish Social Club, 119 Park St.

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