‘100 Miles in a Month’ challenge for fiancée of Pullough man with rare form of cancer

The fiancée of an Offaly man with a rare form of cancer is set to pound the pavements this month as she aims to complete 100 miles for the Mater Hospital Foundation where he is receiving treatment.

Kieran Delaney (33) from Pullough, near Tullamore, has been in the hospital since 3 November after suddenly being diagnosed with lymphoblastic lymphoma.

Speaking about the days leading up to his diagnosis, Kieran says that he was “totally lifeless.”

“It was as if my whole body had just shut down and my energy was totally drained. I was struggling to catch my breath and eat and I could feel lumps in my windpipe if I did manage to eat anything. I was a bit weak and dizzy at times too, but I still got up and carried on and went to work.

“That went on for maybe a few days. I was working one day, and then the next day I couldn’t even get out of bed. I was rushed to Portiuncula hospital because there was swelling in my chest that was nearly closing off my windpipe. My worst fear at that stage was that it was Covid related.

“They were originally treating me for a chest infection, but the next morning I was brought down for a CT scan and lo-and-behold it showed a mass across the whole throat and chest area.

“It was tough hearing that at the time. I knew there was something wrong with my neck to cause the swelling and pain but I wasn’t expecting it to be cancerous at all. It was tough to accept at first, but you have to get over it then and start treating it.”

From there, Kieran received the utmost care at the Mater Hospital, according to his fiancée Jamie-Lee Cooney, from Ferbane.

“He was supposed to go to Galway,” she explains. “I don’t know what changed, but he ended up going to the Mater. He’s getting the best care in the country and they were able to diagnose him within a day and a half because they had dealt with his cancer before. They’re just phenomenal.

“From the day he went in anything he asked for he got, not that he was demanding anything. He was hell-bent that he wasn’t going to be stuck in a room for six months so he asked for some sort of equipment in the room and they got him an exercise bike in his room.

“I was able to order him a takeaway through JustEat, and they were delighted because he hadn’t stopped talking about a Chinese for three weeks!”

Covid restrictions have placed an added layer of stress on the young couple, with visits being off-limits at the moment.

“The whole hospital is locked down,” Kieran says. “There are no visitors in, and children are a no-go. Before tighter restrictions, you might have been allowed one planned visit in a family room but that was only with one person. There are only really visits for someone who is dying at the moment.

“It’s tough because you have no physical support, whereas pre-Covid you might have had two or three visitors a day coming in to see you and that passes the time.”

At home, Jamie-Lee is looking after their two-year-old son Darragh, as well as homeschooling her two other children, Kyle (13) and Tristan (7).

“The eldest is great. He does his own thing and doesn’t really need help. My seven-year-old then is in second class and sometimes it’s hard to explain things because I’m not a teacher. Some of the stuff I look at and I just don’t know how to explain it, so it’s quite stressful with that. And Darragh is trying to catch your attention while you’re helping with homework. It’s busy, busy here all the time!

“Darragh found it very hard, in the beginning, to even talk to Kieran on video calls because he wasn’t used to that. He would get upset and you wouldn’t be able to calm him down for a long time. He’s getting more used to it now though.

“He needs to know that his daddy is there. Just because he’s not here with us at the minute, he’s still out there somewhere.”

Jamie-Lee is now raising money for the Mater Foundation by taking part in the ‘100 Miles in a Month’ challenge, having also done it last year, and her donations stand at €3,400 already.

“I had no connection to the hospital at the time and I think I only raised 50 or 60 euro because I forgot to extend the deadline for the fundraiser. This year, it all came full-circle. I never would have expected the impact that the Mater Hospital would have on us personally. This time around, I’m really pushing to get it done and get the money raised.”

“I’m not a walker or a runner at all and I have problems with my feet and legs after years of Irish dancing and football but I will get it done.”

Kieran will also be doing his bit in hospital, clocking up as many miles as he can on the corridors of his ward.

“I’m not allowed to wander around the hospital so I’ll just be walking the corridors of the ward. Jamie-Lee is after giving me great support the past three or four months so I want to do my bit for her here as well. I’ll try to get in as many miles as possible.”

To support Kieran and Jamie-Lee or any of the other thousands of participants taking part in this challenge, simply go to The Mater Foundation’s website and donate to any of the runners: https://www.materfoundation.ie/donate/