14 years old Niamh Toland from Kerrykeel begins an intensive week of chemotherapy ahead of her life-saving stem cell transplant surgery in a major battle to restore her health, reports the Tirconail Tribune today.
Niamh who resides at Gortcally is a third-year student at Loreto College Milford.
She has been diagnosed with the rare ‘Severe Aplastic Anaemia’ disease will undergo the bone marrow surgery in Crumlin Hospital Dublin on October 1st.
She will be admitted to the hospital on next Sunday and all going she can expect to be back home in around two months time.
Niamh’s younger brother, Niall, aged 12 who is a pupil at Kerrykeel national school has volunteered to donate 25% of his marrow to allow the surgery to go ahead.
He was originally tested in May and got final confirmation of being a matching donor in July.
Severe Aplastic Anaemia is a condition that occurs when the body stops producing enough new blood cells as the bone marrow system shuts down.
The major function of bone marrow is to generate blood cells. Bone marrow contains two main types of stem cells. Hematopoietic stem cells, found in red marrow, are responsible for the production of blood cells.
The journey for the Toland family began when Niamh suffered a virus attack during the Christmas holidays last year.
She was rushed to hospital on January 7th on the first day back at college after the Christmas break. While enjoying the first break of the day, her friends were left shocked as Niamh’s appearance suddenly became jaundiced.
Following a series of tests, biopsies and blood tests, the disease was finally confirmed on May 1st.
It can be caused by a virus, hereditary factors, immune disease, or exposure to chemicals, drugs, or radiation. However, in about half the cases, the cause is unknown.
The definitive diagnosis is by bone marrow biopsy; normal bone marrow has 30–70% blood stem cells, but in aplastic anaemia, these cells are mostly gone and replaced by fat.
The illness which is classified as “SAA” is a disease in which the bone marrow does not make enough blood cells for the body.
The disease is treated by transplant and there are risks involved including the rejection of the donor marrow and while it is hoped all goes well, there are no guarantees.
For Niamh and her family, it has already been a long journey that began on her first day back at Loreto College in Milford. During the morning break another student reported to her teachers that Niamh’s complexion had turned ‘yellow’ and she was feeling unwell. During the Christmas holidays Niamh felt off colour and her energy levels had fallen drastically.
Her mum, Bridget, rushed to the college and brought Niamh to A&E at Letterkenny University Hospital. She responded well to medication in Letterkenny and was admitted to Crumlin Hospital for the first time on January 13th… it was the start of a very long journey and a very traumatic period of waiting and hoping by her family circle.
She recovered sufficiently to be released from Crumlin on January 23rd and got back to college after the mid-term spring break.
But during the Easter holidays further worrying symptoms developed: a rash, unexplained bruising of tissue. Niamh was rushed back to hospital in Letterkenny for further blood tests and her blood count levels was found to be dangerously low.
A further visit to Crumlin for a biopsy confirmed the family’s worst fears… Niamh’s virus attack at Christmas had left her with SAA and in a real battle for survival.
Over the summer, the family has spent many anxious days in Letterkenny hospital. Twice weekly they had to report to the paediatric unit for blood count tests which were then relayed to Dublin. Only then could the consultants in Crumlin prepare for further transfer of bloods by road to Letterkenny.
The transfusions would finally arrive and on many occasions, Niamh and her family left for home after being in the hospital for a period of 15 hours.
Niamh had been looking forward to her Junior Cert next year but that is now on hold.
But being energised by her family and community support, she is planning to sit a number of subjects, all being well and she will have help with her studies while recovering at home.
She says the main issue right now is that her immune system is not working and every little incident can turn into a life-threatening event. She’s wearing ‘three pens’ that deliver essential medication into her system and explains very candidly: “On the exterior I’m the healthiest looking girl in the college…but internally I am very, very ill.”
While Niamh remains in Crumlin, she will be busy studying a number of subjects for her junior cert and like most 14 years old she hopes that she can finally return to a normal life with the hopes and dreams of youth on her side.
Niall will have his own procedure carried out during a short stay in the hospital but he will not be allowed to play football for a number of weeks afterward as his marrow levels return to normal.
After her discharge from Crumlin, Niamh will have to return there on a twice-weekly basis for DNA sampling.
Family members have now launched a GoFundMe page which can be accessed by logging into on gofundme.com/niamhtoland14. (https://www.gofundme.com/niamhtoland14)
Your support will be much appreciated.
