The HSE’s Rehabilitation Unit at St. Patrick’s Hospital in Cashel, Co. Tipperary has been the beneficiary of a Stroke Awareness fundraiser, which involved a sponsored cycle from Bristol in the UK to Miltown Milbay in Co. Clare.
Staged in August of this year and organised by Tipperary man Martin Daly, the €16,000 proceeds for the Cashel unit were presented at an Afternoon Tea recently hosted at St. Patrick’s Hospital. An education session on Stroke Awareness took place in conjunction with the occasion.
The Daly family has been impacted by stroke in recent years. Martin’s sister Christine Daly was a nurse who lived and worked in Bristol for many years before retiring to Miltown Malbay, a place she had loved and visited throughout her life. Sadly, Christine passed away last year, following a stroke.
Currently, Martin’s mother Rita Daly is an inpatient at the Rehabilitation Unit in St. Patrick’s Hospital in Cashel, where she is receiving care from the Stroke Support Team there.
In recent months, Martin Daly’s focus has been on raising Stroke Awareness amongst members of the public, using social media platforms and local radio to spread the word. The cycling group, which included Martin’s work colleagues, family and friends, undertook a sponsored cycle from Bristol in England to Miltown Malbay in Clare in remembrance of Christine as part of this fundraiser. All monies raised from “Christine’s Cycle” have been donated between the Rehabilitation Unit in Cashel and to Cancer Services in Co. Clare.
Staff at the Rehabilitation Unit at St. Patrick’s Hospital were delighted recently to host members of Christine Daly’s family, as patients, staff and management came together with Martin and company to celebrate the success of this fundraiser. The associated education session was held around Stroke Awareness and the importance of early intervention.
Speaking at the occasion, Sheila O’Dwyer (Assistant Director of Nursing, Rehabilitation Unit, St. Patrick’s Hospital) said:
“We are thrilled that this donation towards additional aids to stroke recovery has come to the Rehabilitation Unit. We appreciate very much the support of Martin Daly, his family and friends and also thank them for their raising awareness on the subject of strokes.”
“The Rehabilitation Unit in St. Patrick’s Hospital Campus Cashel is one of the largest of its kind in the South East and has seen an increasing demand for stroke rehabilitation in recent years with a younger age demographic being affected, many of whom are under 65 years of age.”
“The Irish Heart Foundation’s campaign ‘Before the Damage is Done’ advocates for us all to get our blood pressure checked on a regular basis and for us to know what our blood pressure reading is. High blood pressure increases your risk for heart disease, stroke and other serious conditions. It does not have obvious symptoms, so it can be easy to ignore. Indeed, two in three Irish adults aged over 50 have high blood pressure and half of them do not know it. The discussion we had, as part of the cheque presentation at the Afternoon Tea, also covered the importance of recognising the signs and symptoms of stroke and the importance of acting Face, Arms, Speech and Time (FAST)” – see https://irishheart.ie/campaigns/fast/
At the recent occasion, making the presentation of the €16,000, Martin Daly spoke about his sister Christine, how he came up with the idea of raising people’s awareness of Stroke and how he has undertaken this over the past few months. It has included Blood Pressure Check-in days in a local pharmacy in Tipperary Town. “Christine’s Cycle” left Bristol on 11th of August last, passing through Tipperary and culminating in Miltown Malbay on the 16th of August.
Last updated on: 11 / 11 / 2024
