Grateful soldiers to shoulder big burden in Great Limerick Run

A group of soldiers have joined forces with a Killaloe-based sergeant and his Limerick colleague to raise funds for two hospitals that provided excellent care for their two premature babies.

LIEUTENANT Jonathan Hughes, 12 Infantry Battalion and Sergeant Eddie O’Brien, 1 Central Medical Unit will hold a fundraiser titled “Marching for the Maternities” in conjunction with the Regeneron Great Limerick Run half marathon on May 1 next.

This event will raise funds for the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) in University Maternity Hospital Limerick (UMHL) and Coombe Women and Infants’ Hospital, Dublin.

A platoon of between 30 and 40 officers and soldiers representing every corps and every barracks in the Defence Forces will complete the run in uniform, wearing chest rig and day sack, carrying 14 kg (30 lbs).

Simultaneously, members of the 119 Infantry Battalion serving in UNIFIL United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon will also be “Marching for the Maternities” by completing various distances carrying the same weight.

Lieutenant Hughes and Sergeant O’Brien have organised this fundraiser for the NICU in UMHL and the Coombe as a small gesture of their appreciation to the staff who cared for Max, Daisy and their partners.

They are not the first parents who have faced these challenges, and they will not be the last. They wish to use the most difficult period of their lives as an opportunity to provide hope and support to families who will face these challenges in the future.

Up to €11,000 has already been raised through an Eventmaster appeal and all donations will be split evenly between the two hospitals.

Weighing two lbs and 7 oz, baby Max was born at 28 weeks gestation on October 1 last. Twenty-four hours earlier, Sergeant O’Brien had been talking to his partner Sarah on the phone while he was at UN Position 6-52 – an outpost on the South Lebanese Israeli border.

“We were chatting at the time, saying it will be mad that we will be parents in 12 weeks’ time. Twenty-four later, Max arrived. It was a big surprise.

“The army allowed me to come back home early when Max was born. The minute I got off the phone to Sarah who told me the baby was coming early I contacted my boss Sergeant Fran Wade in the main camp who got me out of the outpost.

“At 3.30am in the morning, I was on route on a convoy to Beirut. When I hooked up my phone to the Wi-Fi in Beirut pictures of Max came through. I flew from Beirut to Turkey and Turkey to Dublin.

“While I wasn’t at the birth, I was there for his first day of life. Sarah’s sister, Fiona cut the umbilical cord in my absence.

“Initially we were a bit worried in case he wouldn’t meet his developmental goals. But the staff in University Maternity Hospital Limerick were brilliant and always kept us informed about his care.

“Max has gone through all his tests and he has no massive issues. He is doing great.”

Sarah recalled Max had a very positive journey in UMHL. Her sister, Fiona also had a premature baby, which was considered by doctors as something of a fluke, as there was no history of premature babies in their family.

“I was working from home and within four hours I was having Max. Earlier, I had rang my doctor because I was not feeling great. She advised me to go to hospital to get a check up. I drove in to the maternity hospital. It all happened very quickly. It was scary because you are not prepared for having a premature baby.”

Max moved through all levels of care over several weeks in UMHL before returning home.

Born in New York, Sergeant O’Brien and his family moved to Ogonnelloe when he was seven years old and then bought a house in Ballina where he grew up, attending St Anne’s Community College, Killaloe.

In November 2014, Sergeant O’Brien joined the Irish Defence Forces.

While none of his immediate family were previously in the army, he followed in the footsteps of his cousin in Clonmel and his grandfather, Edward O’Brien, Fethard who was a member of the USA army.

After completing his army training in Donegal, Sergeant O’Brien was based for a while in the Athlone Infantry and the military police in Dublin before transferring to the medics in Limerick.

As part of his training, he completed a Combat Medical Technician training course, which is the equivalent of being an emergency medical technician (EMT), with a few extras for the military environment.

This means he is fully qualified to administer pre-hospital care in an emergency situation.

“It is a good qualification to have for family, community and my job.”

His overseas duty has brought him to the Lebanon four times in 2018, 2019, 2020 and from June to October 2021.

“Joining the Irish Defence Forces was something I always wanted to do. My main goal has always been to become a peacekeeper. There is an occupational hazard that comes with the job.”

Three years ago, the couple, who are getting married later this year, bought a house on the outskirts of Killaloe where they are now residing.

Sarah Meek, who is a native of Tallaght in Dublin, has lived on the shores of Lough Derg for the last 16 years, which also included a stint in St Anne’s.

Sergeant Jonathan Hughes, who hails from St Mary’s Park, Limerick, is based in the 12th Infantry Battalion and used to be in the central medical unit where Sergeant O’Brien is working now.

The army duo know each other well, having spent four weeks in quarantine together due to Covid-19 regulations before a trip to Lebanon and then were reunited again in UMHL after the birth of their premature babies.

On October 24 last, Daisy was born at 23 weeks gestation weighing 460 grams (1 Lb). Daisy was transferred to the NICU in the Coombe where she has faced several challenges, including Sepsis on two occasions, NEC bowel infection and emergency bowel surgery. During her 150 days in hospital, Daisy had 18 blood transfusions.

Two weeks ago, Daisy was transferred to Crumlin Hospital, Dublin and last week she had her second bowel surgery, which went very well.

In 2019, Lieutenant Hughes was a member of the 10th Potential Officer Course when he participated in fundraising for the NICU in the Coombe on behalf of a friend on this course.

“At the time I had no idea we would need the support of the NICU in the future. We helped fundraise a PAUL machine, which doctors and nurses in the Coombe completed their training on. It is the most life-like simulation of a baby you can get.

“A lot of the skills they learned on this machine were subsequently used to keep Daisy alive. This machine cost €75,000 and we raised a contribution of about €10,000.

“Daisy is a little warrior. We hope to be able to get her home within the next three weeks.”

Donations can be made to the march on eventmaster here