Eric’s fundraiser gig for leukaemia

Ennis’ Eric McNevin will this Thursday fulfil his ambition to “give something back” for the support he received when he battled leukaemia last year. Eric has organised a benefit gig in aid of the Bone Marrow for Leukaemia Trust in St James’ Hospital in Dublin, where he spent months receiving life-saving treatment.

 

“This event is something that is very personal to me. They saved my life, I was literally on death’s door and if it wasn’t for the bone marrow transplant, I wouldn’t have made it.

“In the first couple of weeks I was in intensive care I knew I wanted to give something back. I said if I walked out of the hospital I would do something to give back,” the father of two said.

Eric, a former player with Avenue United, recalled, “Last May, I was feeling a bit sick at work. It was the Thursday of the bank holiday, I vomited twice and the boss said to go away home and I said no I’d stick it out and take the Friday off thinking I had the flu.

“I went to the doctor and he told me I had a viral infection so I got my antibiotics and went to bed for four days because I wasn’t able to move.

“My wife stayed away from me in case she caught what I had and with two little boys, it wouldn’t do for us both to be sick. On the Tuesday, she came into the bedroom and said ‘have you looked at yourself in the mirror?’. I said no, I hadn’t even been out of the bed so I went to the bathroom and I had these big, yellow jaundiced eyes and I was covered in rashes and bruises. She said to get dressed, we’re going to the hospital. We went off to St John’s Hospital in Limerick and they took some blood tests and two hours later I was diagnosed with leukaemia, as quick as that.”
He said, “I don’t think it really hit me at the time, it hit my missus more than it hit me. I knew I was sick but I’ve never been sick in my whole life. I’d taken a couple of days off with the flu now and again but to be majorly sick is very uncommon for me.

“That night, I went downhill very fast and they transferred me over to the Regional and they gave me a big dose of chemotherapy just to keep me alive, I was that bad. The following morning, I was in an ambulance up to St James’ in Dublin and I was put into a drug-induced coma for two weeks. I don’t remember any of this, this is what I’ve been told.”

Eric was in intensive care for three months in St James’. “I had a nurse in the room with me 24 hours a day, I was that sick.”
After three months, he was moved to the Burkett Ward. “It’s the same ward Ger Loughnane was in when he was sick. They were all asking me do I know Ger Loughnane, like we all know each other. But I actually did get to know him because in the first week, my mother knows a good friend of Ger Loughnane’s wife and he rang my parents to let them know what to expect. It was great of him.”

Three months later, Eric was told he would be getting a bone marrow transplant, with a donor found in Germany. Two months after his transplant, Eric was released from hospital, although he still has to attend St James’ regularly.

Eric is looking positively towards the future. “I haven’t had any treatment in the last three months, I’m doing well so I can’t complain. When I got out of the hospital, I was taking 22 tablets a day and I’m down to three now, so I’m flying it.”

Eric said he has received massive support from his family and friends, particularly his wife Sian and children, Cian and Callum. When it came to coming up with an idea to fundraise for the Bone Marrow for Leukaemia Trust, he once again turned to his friends.

“It was Kevin Fitzgerald from Forget Monday who came up with the idea of having a gig, I’d know all those bands from back in the day. I’ve had lots of support from everybody with this, from the musicians to people coming on board to sponsor prizes,” he said.

The event will take place in Charlie Stewart’s Pub this Thursday. As well as the music, there will be a draw with prizes including an Olympic ticket signed by Katie Taylor, a jersey signed by the Irish rugby team and signed rugby balls. There are also further plans to auction off an Irish boxing singlet signed by Katie Taylor in the coming weeks.