Help Gillian Get a New Working Leg
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I wanted to set up this Page for Gillian Walsh so that she can raise the money she needs to get her independence back and be the Mom she wants to be to her children .
Gillian had the operation to remove her leg on the 22nd February 2016 and there is no one better than Gillian to tell you the story so here it is in her own words.
"So here is the start of me learning to walk again, it's all pretty scary and exciting also very hard,It started when I was 19, I got cancer , which devastated me as at 19 like most 19 yr old girls I had no worries n working and deciding what to wear going out the weekend was all I had to bother me then I had cancer and was facing an amputation.
My life had collapsed n I cried and cried. I met a wonderful doctor who saved my leg and my life . My femur bone and tumour was removed and replaced with metal, tough but I got through it thanks to my mam and dad. My parents were brilliant. I had chemo and radiation which really made me sick. When my hair started to fall out, we just shaved it all off. I still went out when i wasnt in hospital, I had good friends oh and had a beautiful wig lol which made going out easier. There were darker days where I was to weak to do anything but I continued I refused to let it keep me down, I think I was braver then because now im finding it very hard.
After all the treatment I got the all clear but said i may never have children I didn't know how I felt about that at the time as hadnt even thought of having a family so being cancer free was enough for me, I was elated. I lived my life, many times I lived in the moment I was happy. I was even more than happy wen I fell pregnant against the odds, yay i was able to conceive and my first born n gorgeous beautiful lil girl chloe was born 8/2/02, I was so in love with her I wanted more so Josh arrived 13/5/04, sophie 20/2/06 and my baby cian 28/9/09 so spent my 20's having my babies, they are my world n working in great places meeting great people.
Sadly in 2006 I lost my mam to cancer , at age 46, so young and a huge loss to our family. The family home was now so full of sadness but all the grandkids now fill it with happiness. She would have been delighted with them all. In 2010, 6 mths after I had Cian I once again was struck down with lung cancer, I'm a non smoker always was, was in shock. Thought this was it like my mam, thought I couldnt survive it again but I did. I had my left lung removed. I Found it harder to recover from with the breathing and of course was a mammy with 4 children that needed looking after, but I done it with plenty of sweat and tears along the way. By now I was sick of pain, mentally physically and emotionally. I was drained.
In time I was flying it and returned to work. At Xmas in 2011 we had an enormous blow when my brother brian was killed in a car crash at age 28. It was 2 weeks before xmas and 2 days before my birthday, i was in work, a friday morning when i got the phonecall , We still haven't gotten over that.
Then the op that was going to change my life forever, in Aug 2014 it was decided to change the metal prosthesis in my leg as it had been causing me a lot of pain, the op was my biggest mistake and wish I could turn back time. I'd always been independant and hated having to depend on others but that became my life. I couldnt drive, my independence gone . So It got infected which led to many hospital stays and surgeries. I was on iv antibiotics getting prodded with needles everyday. The hospital was 2 hrs from home so didnt have many visitors, so was very lonely and was in lot of pain, the wound wouldn't heal and after 18mths and many surgeries I'd had enough I was away far too often from the kids even when I was home I was always tired or in pain, being a mother was all I knew but I wasn't able to be a mother not really and that hurt , so with a heavy heart an amputation was decided. I was and still am devastated , never did I think it would end this way,
I have become very self conscious about how I look now as would any girl. I hate it and it will take a lot of getting used to dunno if I'll ever accept it, but I'm alive and well and in mostly no pain. It's a decision that wasn't taken lightly but a heartbreaking one.
So here I am and that was my story to how I got to here today. Life has hurt me time and time again, it has dealt me a lot of pain, too much for one person in one lifetime, my kids are my world and my healers.
I'm in rehab doing really well, it's tough but being tough is all I know .......so here I am starting my training and the first picture I have shown of myself which I thought I wouldn't ever do as I'm so self conscious about how it looks, but life goes on, a lot harder but still you've two choices you either get on with it or leave it get you down, right now im getting on with it. ☺ thanks for reading my story"
The second Post that Gillian wrote that inspired me to set up this page to help was this one ...
I've been thrown into a life not by choice, being an amputee I never knew der wer so many amputees in ireland, a lot of them are children. So like me, if they want to be able to walk, to be independent and have a chance at normal living yet it costs thousands for a good leg, so unfair :(
Yes it is unfair and when I messaged Gillian to see how she felt about a public page being set up she had this to say "after years of pain and hardship I just want to be able to walk without the fear of falling and become independant again and unfortunately it costs and yes I would gladly accept any help that would make it that bit easier"
"I've been researching the prosthetic legs online the last couple of days the c leg which would allow a working joint to allow me to go up and down a stairs and are stable are between 10 and 15 k - don't think I'd ever raise that amount,"
Lets proove her wrong - every little bit counts Gillian will get exact details regarding costs and what she needs tailored to her so we have set the Target at 15k for now but we may have to review that.
Lets give her and her Kiddies back the Life and the Mom that they deserve and allow her the dream of walking down the aisle once more with her Fiance Barry .
EVERY CENT COUNTS PLEASE DONATE AND SHARE WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY , WORKMATES ect.
If anyone would like to run an event to help reach the goal please do let us know . Many thaks Lorraine
Who am I and Why am I doing this?
I am a friend of the Family (old Neighbours) it was in 1994 when the Walsh Family moved next door to us in Bridlewood, Waterford and touched our hearts and became friends for Life - I remember when Gillian was first diagnosed and the day she made the decision to shave her head when it started falling out from chemo . She is such a brave and inspirational young woman - we are in awe of her and we know her family are so proud and I know Crissie and Brian are looking over her as she makes this incredible journey to walk again xxx
We are all behind you Gill every step of the way please when you donate leave a message it makes all the difference in motivation and encouragement xx Lorraine
If you can't donate please share on Social Media so we can reach as wide an audience as possible.
Thank you
Gillian had the operation to remove her leg on the 22nd February 2016 and there is no one better than Gillian to tell you the story so here it is in her own words.
"So here is the start of me learning to walk again, it's all pretty scary and exciting also very hard,It started when I was 19, I got cancer , which devastated me as at 19 like most 19 yr old girls I had no worries n working and deciding what to wear going out the weekend was all I had to bother me then I had cancer and was facing an amputation.
My life had collapsed n I cried and cried. I met a wonderful doctor who saved my leg and my life . My femur bone and tumour was removed and replaced with metal, tough but I got through it thanks to my mam and dad. My parents were brilliant. I had chemo and radiation which really made me sick. When my hair started to fall out, we just shaved it all off. I still went out when i wasnt in hospital, I had good friends oh and had a beautiful wig lol which made going out easier. There were darker days where I was to weak to do anything but I continued I refused to let it keep me down, I think I was braver then because now im finding it very hard.
After all the treatment I got the all clear but said i may never have children I didn't know how I felt about that at the time as hadnt even thought of having a family so being cancer free was enough for me, I was elated. I lived my life, many times I lived in the moment I was happy. I was even more than happy wen I fell pregnant against the odds, yay i was able to conceive and my first born n gorgeous beautiful lil girl chloe was born 8/2/02, I was so in love with her I wanted more so Josh arrived 13/5/04, sophie 20/2/06 and my baby cian 28/9/09 so spent my 20's having my babies, they are my world n working in great places meeting great people.
Sadly in 2006 I lost my mam to cancer , at age 46, so young and a huge loss to our family. The family home was now so full of sadness but all the grandkids now fill it with happiness. She would have been delighted with them all. In 2010, 6 mths after I had Cian I once again was struck down with lung cancer, I'm a non smoker always was, was in shock. Thought this was it like my mam, thought I couldnt survive it again but I did. I had my left lung removed. I Found it harder to recover from with the breathing and of course was a mammy with 4 children that needed looking after, but I done it with plenty of sweat and tears along the way. By now I was sick of pain, mentally physically and emotionally. I was drained.
In time I was flying it and returned to work. At Xmas in 2011 we had an enormous blow when my brother brian was killed in a car crash at age 28. It was 2 weeks before xmas and 2 days before my birthday, i was in work, a friday morning when i got the phonecall , We still haven't gotten over that.
Then the op that was going to change my life forever, in Aug 2014 it was decided to change the metal prosthesis in my leg as it had been causing me a lot of pain, the op was my biggest mistake and wish I could turn back time. I'd always been independant and hated having to depend on others but that became my life. I couldnt drive, my independence gone . So It got infected which led to many hospital stays and surgeries. I was on iv antibiotics getting prodded with needles everyday. The hospital was 2 hrs from home so didnt have many visitors, so was very lonely and was in lot of pain, the wound wouldn't heal and after 18mths and many surgeries I'd had enough I was away far too often from the kids even when I was home I was always tired or in pain, being a mother was all I knew but I wasn't able to be a mother not really and that hurt , so with a heavy heart an amputation was decided. I was and still am devastated , never did I think it would end this way,
I have become very self conscious about how I look now as would any girl. I hate it and it will take a lot of getting used to dunno if I'll ever accept it, but I'm alive and well and in mostly no pain. It's a decision that wasn't taken lightly but a heartbreaking one.
So here I am and that was my story to how I got to here today. Life has hurt me time and time again, it has dealt me a lot of pain, too much for one person in one lifetime, my kids are my world and my healers.
I'm in rehab doing really well, it's tough but being tough is all I know .......so here I am starting my training and the first picture I have shown of myself which I thought I wouldn't ever do as I'm so self conscious about how it looks, but life goes on, a lot harder but still you've two choices you either get on with it or leave it get you down, right now im getting on with it. ☺ thanks for reading my story"
The second Post that Gillian wrote that inspired me to set up this page to help was this one ...
I've been thrown into a life not by choice, being an amputee I never knew der wer so many amputees in ireland, a lot of them are children. So like me, if they want to be able to walk, to be independent and have a chance at normal living yet it costs thousands for a good leg, so unfair :(
Yes it is unfair and when I messaged Gillian to see how she felt about a public page being set up she had this to say "after years of pain and hardship I just want to be able to walk without the fear of falling and become independant again and unfortunately it costs and yes I would gladly accept any help that would make it that bit easier"
"I've been researching the prosthetic legs online the last couple of days the c leg which would allow a working joint to allow me to go up and down a stairs and are stable are between 10 and 15 k - don't think I'd ever raise that amount,"
Lets proove her wrong - every little bit counts Gillian will get exact details regarding costs and what she needs tailored to her so we have set the Target at 15k for now but we may have to review that.
Lets give her and her Kiddies back the Life and the Mom that they deserve and allow her the dream of walking down the aisle once more with her Fiance Barry .
EVERY CENT COUNTS PLEASE DONATE AND SHARE WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY , WORKMATES ect.
If anyone would like to run an event to help reach the goal please do let us know . Many thaks Lorraine
Who am I and Why am I doing this?
I am a friend of the Family (old Neighbours) it was in 1994 when the Walsh Family moved next door to us in Bridlewood, Waterford and touched our hearts and became friends for Life - I remember when Gillian was first diagnosed and the day she made the decision to shave her head when it started falling out from chemo . She is such a brave and inspirational young woman - we are in awe of her and we know her family are so proud and I know Crissie and Brian are looking over her as she makes this incredible journey to walk again xxx
We are all behind you Gill every step of the way please when you donate leave a message it makes all the difference in motivation and encouragement xx Lorraine
If you can't donate please share on Social Media so we can reach as wide an audience as possible.
Thank you
Organizer
Lorraine Hales
Organizer
County Waterford, Waterford