Cathal Daly
Baby Cathal Daly was both on August 12th, 2016, weighing in at a healthy 7lbs 6oz. A perfectly normal birth announcement, you would think, except that Cathal’s mum Therese had a kidney transplant only the year before. In March 2015, Therese’s brother Cathal donated his kidney to save his sister’s life – but little did they know that only 17 months later Therese would give birth to the most gorgeous little boy and name it after her selfless brother!
Therese had suffered kidney problems for many years, and received her first kidney from a deceased donor on September 11th, 2001. “Therese was pretty sick before both transplants,” explains her sister, Sinead. “But one thing I will say about Therese is that she was always really positive in what was an extremely tough time for her. Her husband Paul was amazing too, always by her side.”
When Therese got sick again, all of her five siblings were willing to donate and were tested for suitability. Cathal was a full 6/6 match for Therese, which is an exceptionally good match, and the transplant went ahead in Beaumont Hospital.
Both Cathal and Therese recovered well after the donation, and Cathal even went on to captain the winning Kildalkey side in the hurling championships in September 2015. “Cathal made a speech upon receiving the cup and said it was a personal achievement to go out and win a county final after donating his kidney to his sister Therese. There wasn’t a dry eye on the stand that day!” says Sinead.
When Therese discovered she was pregnant, she was understandably nervous, but the doctors reassured her that she would be monitored closely during the nine months. “Thankfully she had a pretty smooth pregnancy and she really looked after her health. Whenever she went to the Rotunda she had to go to Beaumont too to make sure the kidney was functioning well – which it did throughout and afterwards.”
Happily, Cathal’s birth was straightforward enough, and he’s now thriving. “Cathal is doing great. The amount of happiness he has brought into the world for our whole family is in incredible and I know none of this would have been possible if it wasn’t for my brother’s bravery. I was going to enter him for the sibling award too but he said he wanted baby Cathal to win Miracle Baby. It is a day to celebrate him.
“It’s also great to share their story and to raise organ donor awareness. The gift of life is so special, and it’s fantastic that Cathal is our silver lining out of all of this.”
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