Shannon father’s mammoth challenge for CF

SHANNON’S Kieran McCarthy is going to take on a unique challenge to raise funds for cystic fibrosis next month.
The 32-year-old is going to swim three kilometres at Shannon pool, hop on his bike and cycle over 200km to Dublin and then run 26.2 miles in the Dublin City Marathon.
Clearly, it will take an immense effort but Kieran says he has been working hard and knows what he’s letting himself in for.
“I’ve done four marathons and I’ve done a couple of triathlons so I’ve a fair idea what I’m letting myself in for. I’ve been training for the last year and people who’ve done Iron Mans have given me a few tips. The lads in the leisure centre have given me a nutrition plan as well.”
He will begin the swimming at 7.30pm on October 30 and he says the challenge is in keeping with the cause he is working for. “For CF patients exercise is very good and swimming, cycling and running are three of the best forms of exercise.”
Kieran is a son of long-serving councillor Patricia McCarthy and his motivation for the challenge is his three-year-old daughter Aoibheann, who was diagnosed with CF just over 16 months ago. He said the diagnosis caused a lot of upset for the family.
“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It was like a big wave had just hit me and I was trying to steady myself. I felt so many things at once but the biggest thing was fear. Fear of what might happen Aoibheann, fear of what we were going to be told next, fear of what lay ahead. The fear never goes away but you have to put it to one side and focus on the present and let tomorrow worry about itself.”
He advises people in similar circumstances to “stay away from the internet until you speak to your CF team in the hospital or your child’s doctor. Without knowing the facts about your specific child, it will only scare you.”
Kieran’s wife, Sinéad said when he first mentioned what he was going to do she didn’t take him very seriously. “Kieran just said, ‘I think I might cycle up next year before the marathon and then run it’. I just though, ‘of course dear’, but the next time he said it a few weeks later I knew he was dead serious and I thought, ‘Do you know what? He is actually going to do this’.”
She said she is a bit nervous about it. “I am in no doubt that he can and will do it but my heart will be in my mouth until I see him near the finish line in Dublin. There will be tears of pride and relief.”
Cystic fibrosis is Ireland’s most life-threatening inherited disease. Around one in 19 people are carriers of the CF gene and where two carriers parent a child together, there is a 25% chance of the baby being born with CF.
An €11 million medical centre block is currently being built at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick, which will contain a new dedicated nine-bed unit for young adult CF patients in the Mid-West to allow a continuation of service for child CF patients.
Funding for the new centre is being raised by the TLC4CF campaign and monies raised from the challenge will go towards the fund and towards the Clare Crusaders charity, which provides a range of therapies to Aoibheann from its Barefield clinic.
“The Clare Crusaders clinic has been a tremendous help for Aoibheann,” Kieran added.
Sinéad said the new unit will make a significant difference. “With the development of this new unit, all CF patients in the Mid-West Region won’t have to endure the inadequate services that previously existed. There is no doubt that better facilities and a higher standard of care will play a major role in improving the lives of those living with cystic fibrosis,” she concluded.