The Letterkenny woman who owes her life to the birth of her son

She breezed over the finishing line at the Women’s Mini Marathon in Dublin on Sunday – the Donegal woman who owes her life to the birth of her son.

Nadine Coyle McCabe, a native of Letterkenny but resident in Donegal Town, admits to exhaustion after her run.

But that pales into insignificance compared to previous visits to the capital city and the physical and mental suffering she endured over seven years ago.

She had been diagnosed with a very rare condition, cancer of the appendix, and it was thanks to the medical teams, her family including husband, Declan, and their respective parents, her good friend, Bridget O’Donnell who had gone through the same illness, and her strong faith that she pulled through.

But there were times when she believed she might not live to join in the celebrations of her first born child, who recently made her First Holy Communion.

It was 2017 and six months into her second pregnancy when a routine scan at Letterkenny University Hospital uncovered the presence of a cyst.

“It was as it happened quite a large cyst and as a result I underwent an emergency delivery.

“It was such a shock because you’re expecting a baby – we were so delighted and so excited that we were adding to our family. We already had a little girl and at the time I had started a new job.”

Nadine’s son was born in July 2017. She suffered severe pelvic pain after the birth that initially was put down to normal pregnancy pain.

But she was subsequently referred to the Mater Hospital in Dublin. “At that stage our son was only ten weeks old and we left him in the safe hands of my parents in law and my aunt.”

Accompanied by her husband, Declan, and her own parents, Seamus and Colette (both retired secondary school teachers in Letterkenny), she travelled to Dublin where she had operations to have two parts of her bowel removed, the first in St. James Hospital before being transferred to the Mater.

“After the second surgery I just made it home in time for my son’s first birthday.

“It was tough and unexpected and at that stage, I had no real diagnosis.”

But further surgery on the longest day of the year on June 18th, 2018, brought that diagnosis into sharp focus.

“I went into surgery very early in the morning and wasn’t out until late that evening.

“Declan and my mum and dad spent the day on their knees in a little church beside the Mater.”

It was only later that the Donegal woman’s surgeon told her: “If it had not been for the pregnancy and discovery of the cyst and if you had come to me in ten years time, I’m not sure you would have been a candidate for surgery or treatment.”

Says Nadine: “So I count myself very lucky that I was blessed with my little boy and that it was discovered during my pregnancy.”

The surgery and treatment that she underwent in the Mater only became available in Ireland after 2013 when the necessary theatre, expertise and intensive care facilities were put in place.

“Prior to that patients with this condition had to travel to Basingstoke Hospital in the U.K. for this – such is the radical nature of the surgery and aggressive form of chemotherapy needed to treat it. The surgery I had – HIPEC – is often referred to as the Mother of All Surgeries because it is radically invasive and patients can lose so many internal organs during the one operation.”

Recalling her time in hospital, Nadine reflected on the other women in her ward. “I was 37 and every other patient there were in their fifties.

“It was horrendously frightening because you didn’t know any prognosis or what was happening. You’re there thinking about your family and how it will affect them.”

When the diagnosis came it was found to be a rare condition, cancer of the appendix, medically known as Epithelial.

The symptoms can include bloating and putting on some weight around the stomach. “You might not necessarily have a lot of pain or anything like that.”

Eight years on, Nadine is still indebted to the “absolutely fantastic” work of her surgeon and the medical team.

“It’s just incredible what they do. You see people fascinated by celebrities but then you look at surgeons and medical people – they are the real heroes. They save lives day in and day out and are the reason I am here.” Life savers and life prolongers.

“I send my surgeon a Mass card every year on the anniversary of my surgery to remember him and thank him and pray for him.”
Prayers are indeed a strong feature of Nadine’s journey through life. “My faith sustained me through a very frightening and uncertain time.”

And when she attends the Mater for a check-up she makes a point of spending some time in St. Joseph’s Church on the Berkeley Road.

In 2019, she travelled with her parents to San Giovanni Rotondo – home of St. Padre Pio. “It was a very special trip of thanksgiving after some very excruciating post-surgical complications I had began to resolve.

“And I have to say I never felt another cramping episode after that trip.”

Her illness has ignited a strong friendship with a Dungloe woman who suffered from the same rare condition.

“The Mater Hospital put me in touch with Bridget O’Donnell who had undergone her treatment six months before mine.

She shared her story on Facebook and it had 42,000 views. She shared it to raise awareness of the condition, Pseudomyxoma Peritonei because it is so rare and difficult to diagnose.

“It is often misdiagnosed or discovered by accident as in my case when it discovered during a routine pregnancy scan.

“The benefit of knowing Bridget to me was unbelievable. We are great friends now and someone I’m in touch with regularly.”

A firm friendship born from adversity.

Nadine is also gratified for the change in the law in terms of maternity leave coinciding with serious illness.

“The fact that I missed out on my maternity leave and didn’t have a supportive employer at the time and was unable to take a career break or parental leave was very difficult for my recovery.


“I have since changed employment and I think it’s really important to note that a new change in the law means that women can now defer their maternity leave if they have a cancer diagnosis during pregnancy.

“They can get the benefit of maternity leave after they recover from illness. This would have made a huge difference to me had this been in place when I was ill during all of my maternity leave,” Nadine insists.

She will be eternally grateful, not just to the medical teams that looked after her – she will continue to receive check-ups – but also to her husband, Declan, and to their respective parents, and aunts.

Back in 2022, Declan ran the Dublin Marathon and in the process raised the sum of more than €8,000 which he presented to the Mater Foundation.

Some weeks ago, Nadine and Declan took part in the North-West 10k and just recently, as she continues her story of recovery and remission, they celebrated their daughter’s First Communion. “It’s something I had once thought I might never see.”

Nadine attended Donegal Relay for Life two weekends ago for the first time ever – wearing, as she says with pride, the purple tee-shirt.

“It was a great weekend and the money raised will towards research and the treatment of cancer as well as raising more awareness of rare cancers such as mine and the fact that more people are now recovering successfully and living living long lives is so positive and promising.

“That’s why initiatives such as Relay for Life are vitally important,” she maintains.

And why she smiled her way over the finishing line at the Women’s Mini Marathon last weekend just over three kilometres away from the Mater Hospital.

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