Tag Archives: Beaumont Hospital

BUSY mum-of-three Geraldine Frost was raising a family, running a shop and holding down a job in a medical devices company, in the 1990s, when a routine blood test changed her life. As part of a routine medical, organised by her employer Analog Devices, high levels of a substance called creatinine were detected. “That can be a sign of kidney disease,” Geraldine explained. “I had been feeling very tired, but I put that down to being rushed off my feet. My mother had passed away, at the age of just 50, from kidney failure and, as it turned out, I was then diagnosed with a very rare type of kidney disease.” Because of her condition, Geraldine’s kidneys were no longer able to perform their normal function of filtering out impurities. This necessitated dialysis, a mechanical process to cleanse waste and fluid. The procedure, which has to happen several times a week, can lead to major restrictions in someone’s daily life. …

AN EMOTIONAL appeal has been issued by the father of a young Shannon girl with Cystic Fibrosis, as the county’s rate of Covid-19 spiked sharply this week. Kieran McCarthy, dad of 12-year-old Aoibheann, and a member of Cystic Fibrosis Ireland (CFI) is urging people not to become complacent about their safety and that of others, especially the most vulnerable. He said that in recent days, he has seen “crazy things,” that are very upsetting to his family and to others at risk. He told The Champion he believes the change in government has led to confusion over the safety message, and called for more to be done to convince younger people of the need to protect their families and the wider community. “Some people don’t understand because they have never had to experience illness or loss,” he said. “Some people are oblivious. Nine out of ten teens don’t understand hardship and loss. What they don’t realise is that it will …