Kyle’s debt to Crumlin Children’s Hospital

ON Wednesday November 2, 2006, the then five-year-old Kyle Carmody sustained between 12% and 15% bodily burns when his pyjamas caught fire at the family home in Monvana, Kilrush.

In a terrifying instant, the Carmody family were propelled into a dark place. The emergency services rushed to the house and immediately brought the boy to Dr Eric Carr’s surgery in Kilrush. Kyle was moved to Ennis hospital before being transferred to Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin, where he spent the next three months.
“Kyle was due to spend eight months in hospital and he was to lose three fingers at the time,” his father Flan told The Clare Champion this week. “I had everyone praying for him and thanks be to God, the skin grew back on his hands again. I brought him up there last week for his check up. He doesn’t have to go back for five years and they’ll see then if he needs any more operations,” he said.
During his time in hospital, Kyle had to undergo four skin graft operations.
“I think it took a toll on the whole family. It was a very, very stressful time for the whole lot of the family. He’s in good form now though. He’s a pupil in second class in the Gaeilscoil in Kilrush. They’ve been brilliant. All of the students there and their family’s have been brilliant and have been great support to us over that time,” Flan said.
During his three-month stay in hospital, Kyle was only allowed home for Christmas and St Stephen’s Day, 2006. Flan says that his son doesn’t fully recall what happened and that talking about it is difficult even for himself and his wife Tayna. 
“He never really talks about it. He still doesn’t remember what happened him. Once or twice we’ve talked but we found it hard to talk about it. Even between family. I hate to see any child sick. Watching Kyle and what he was going through and watching the other kids in Crumlin, it was stressful for everyone but we just had to hang in there,” he said.
Having received a kidney transplant 11 years ago, Flan has been through the mill, medically, himself. In fact, he is a founding member of the West Clare Kidney Walk, which has raised thousands of euro for kidney care. These days though, Flan is concentrating on raising money for the burns unit in Crumlin Children’s Hospital and has already collected €12,000.
“I’ve concentrated a bit extra on fundraising for Crumlin recently,” he explained.
Garrihy’s Bar in Moyasta will host a fundraising night on Friday, November 6. Patrick Roche and Morgan Roughan will provide the music free of charge, something they have already done at other fundraising events.
“No matter what problems you have, when you walk through the children’s hospital in Crumlin, it knocks your life into perspective fairly fast,” Flan said.
His respect for the medical profession and the emergency services is something that is unlikely to diminish.
“They were there in minutes,” he said with reference to the emergency services arrival on the day of Kyle’s accident.
“That what saves lives. They’re working with what they have. I’ve always said that nurses, no matter where they work, don’t get paid half enough for what they do,” he commented.
These days, Kyle is developing an interest in hip hop and is a bit of a High School Musical fanatic according to his father.
Life has certainly improved since he was only allowed home for two days during Christmas ’06 before spending all of January back in hospital.
Tickets for the November 6 fundraiser in Moyasta will be on sale in Kilrush in the coming days, while they can also be obtained from Flan Carmody on 086 8638847.