Life for this Cork boy (12) with cerebral palsy has been ‘transformed' by this vital charity
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A Cork mother says a Cork charity has played an instrumental role in helping her son with Cerebral Palsy navigate his life's major challenges into his teenage years,
Alison Lynch's son Oliver was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy after a complication during birth, flagged during an early cranial scan. Ironically, it was brother Reuben's scans that led the twins to receive the extra attention.
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Irish Post
2 days ago
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Young organ donation campaigner honoured at President Higgins' garden party
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Irish Times
2 days ago
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Iodine-deficiency signs in some 60% of pregnant women in Ireland, study finds
Some 60 per cent of pregnant women in Ireland show signs of iodine deficiency, a new study from University College Cork has found. Iodine is essential for thyroid hormone production, which supports a baby's brain development during pregnancy. A women's requirement for the mineral increases 50 per cent during pregnancy, but it cannot be produced by the human body and must be acquired through the diet or supplements. The researchers of the study, which is the first large-scale assessment of iodine status in pregnant women in Ireland, said the findings highlight a need for increased nutritional awareness to support maternal and child health. READ MORE The study, which was recently published in the European Journal of Nutrition, evaluated iodine levels in more than 1,500 women who were pregnant with their first baby at Cork University Maternity Hospital, through health questionnaires and urine samples. The study found 60 per cent of participants had insufficient iodine intake. The average urinary iodine concentration (UIC) was 125µg/L (micrograms per litre), below the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended level of 150µg/L for pregnancy, the study said. Women who were younger, had a higher BMI, had lower education levels or were not taking iodine-containing supplements were more likely to be deficient, the report added. Seasonal variation played a role, with lower iodine levels during the summer months. The research was led by Dr Áine Hennessy from the Irish Centre for Maternal and Child Health Research (INFANT) at UCC and the Cork Centre for Vitamin D and Nutrition Research at the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences. According to the researchers, deficiency of iodine in pregnancy can lead to adverse outcomes, including impaired neurodevelopment in children. Dr Hennessy said iodine deficiency is ' one of the most common micronutrient deficiencies worldwide'. 'There is little public awareness of the important role that iodine plays in brain development during pregnancy,' she said. 'Our findings are particularly concerning as most women in the study were considered healthy and low risk and two-thirds reported taking pregnancy supplements containing iodine. This suggests that additional public health measures may need to be addressed.' Dr Hennessy has advised women planning a pregnancy to ensure 'adequate iodine intake through diet'. 'Including two or more servings of milk or yoghurt daily and eating white fish once a week is recommended by the HSE,' she said. 'For those following vegan or predominantly plant-based diets, it's important to choose iodine-fortified alternatives. We do not recommend kelp or seaweed supplements, as they can contain very high levels of iodine that can cause issues for the thyroid.' The researchers have called for a 'policy review' and nutrition education for women of childbearing age, noting Ireland does not currently have a policy for salt iodisation or iodine food fortification. Iodisation is the process of fortifying salt for human consumption with iodine and is an effective strategy to increase iodine intake, according to the WHO.
Irish Times
3 days ago
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Long Covid: ‘I'm only in my 30s, but I'm not the person I was in December 2020′
When Fiona Walsh contracted Covid-19 in January 2021, she had no idea how much her life would change. Her symptoms at the time were quite moderate, she says, beginning with the expected loss of taste. She qualified as a nurse in 2009, and began working at a Cork hospital between then and when she contracted the virus. 'I didn't know back then – four years and six months ago – that that would be the last time I'd work,' she says. Since her infection with the virus, Walsh has battled long Covid – a syndrome, characterised by the persistence or development of symptoms such as fatigue, breathlessness and muscle weakness, attributed to Covid-19. READ MORE 'My quality of life is poor. I'm only in my 30s, but I'm not the person I was in December 2020. I've lost my career, which is a big identity loss,' she says. 'It's crippling, the fatigue. I have brain fog which would be quite severe. I forget things; I leave taps on, I mix up my own medications. Nobody wants a nurse with brain fog. I have nerve pain, muscular pain, palpitations. As the years have gone by, I worry this is as good as it is going to be. At the moment, we are very much in limbo.' In the past three years, her recovery has 'plateaued', she says, 'but the bad days vastly outnumber the good days'. In December 2022, the Government introduced a special payment scheme for healthcare workers living with long Covid. The scheme, which was introduced as a temporary measure, has been extended a number of times but was due to finish at the end of June. Late on Thursday evening, the Labour Court recommended a final extension of the current special scheme for healthcare workers living with long Covid to run up to December 31st, 2025, which the Government accepted. The Government said 159 Health Service Executive and Section 38 – or public service disability – organisation staff are currently on the scheme and in receipt of full pay. [ My battle with Long Covid: I was in disbelief. Was I making it up? How could I not stand up while the kettle boiled? Opens in new window ] From the start of 2026, anyone still in receipt of payment under the scheme should transition to the Public Service Sick Leave Scheme, the court said. Walsh is one such beneficiary of the scheme; she says she believes it should be available indefinitely to healthcare workers. Waiting to hear whether it would be extended once again was a 'horrible, stressful day', she says. 'We did what was asked of us and we went to work but we got sick at work and we are now paying the price with our health,' she says. 'We are obviously very, very grateful for the news [of the extension] but the hope is now that the Government will follow the rest of Europe as identifying Covid as an occupational illness.' Olivia Barry is another nurse based in Co Cork who contracted the virus through work in December 2020. Over the course of her 20-year-long career, she used to work 12- or 13-hour shifts. She walked a lot and sometimes ran, she recalls. 'Now, some days it's difficult to get out of bed. I've lost a part of myself. We worked so hard to become nurses and for our career, and when that's taken away from you, that's soul destroying,' she says. 'We followed all policies and procedures that were in place but unfortunately they didn't protect us. So we've contracted Covid prior to there being vaccines available.' Barry says she is grateful to the Government for the extensions to the scheme in recent months. 'But each time those extensions end, we're left on a cliff edge with such uncertainty. Like, how are we going to pay our mortgages? Once December happens again, we're back to square one.' 'I go up the stairs on all fours to conserve energy' - Ireland's ignored health crisis Listen | 24:18
