Help Aisling Thornhill on her journey with Leukemia

On the 30th of January 2025, we watched as our beautiful cousin Aisling got the devastating news she had Accute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL B-CELL) and our worlds crumbled.

Aisling was feeling unwell since before Xmas 2024 with vomiting, diahorrea and general fatigue, she had been in and out of work since early December and had been attending her g.p. But never in a million years did anyone think it would lead to the diagnosis she received.

Prior to this Aisling a healthy 34 year old Mammy of two beautiful kids Ajay (7) and Jorja (2) had been living a normal, happy, busy life working part time in obriens cafe in cork city centre for the past 15 years, whilst being an amazing Mother to her 2 kids and partner to Graham and helping out her parents who are in their mid 70s.

Aisling is an only child and her parents John and Georgina were 17 years married before they got their miracle “Aisling”. Aisling is privelidged today to have two amazing parents in her life and grandparents in her kids lives as she faces the ordeal she is going through now.She also has an amazing partner Graham, a massive family support, great friends , work colleagues and in- laws who have been there from day one to help out with everything from helping with the kids to hospital visits and appointments, and even financially which we know she really appreciates, Aisling is loved and respected by so many people as she has always been a person with an amazing personality, bubbly, friendly and who would go out of her way to help anyone , she is the most kind hearted person who would never ask for anything in return.

Aisling has been in the CUH ward 2d under the exceptional care of Dr Dearbhla O Shea and her fantastic team of doctors and nurses since 30th January this year, she has undergone chemotherapy, spinal chemotherapy, immunotherapy and many more treatments to try and get rid of the leukemia cells from her body, this has made her extremely tired and weak but she had a fight in her from the start for her young family that she took everything thrown at her to get better, without a complaint or a moan. All was looking good and her bone marrow tests showed she was negative for leukemia cells after just 3 months. It still meant at this stage she had a long 2 years of recovery ahead as an inpatient and outpatient but it was looking very positive. In the past 5 months she has been home on maybe 4 occasions for a couple of days to her babies which has made this journey a little easier for her.

Unfortunately this positive news didn’t last long, ash wasn’t feeling better at any stage and was as sick as before commencing treatment most days and on the 30th of June 2025, five months from the day of diagnosis ash got the devastating news that the leukemia cells are now back in her body and that the leukemia basically outsmarted the chemotherapy. It was her biggest fear and nightmare, and has shook her to the core. It has taken a toll on her mentally, physically and brought her to one of the darkest places you can imagine overnight. Her parents feel helpless in a situation where most parents never wish to see their child. She now faces a bone marrow transplant in Dublin but being an only child this could prove difficult to get a matching donor, unfortunately her parents and her kids are ruled out to go forward as a donor and even though there is a huge family of cousins we are also not eligible to go forward as donors , so her files are now being looked at in St. James hospital Dublin to try and find a suitable donor.

In the meantime she has had a bone marrow sample taken in CUH today which has been sent to Germany for testing and she will start a therapy in cork university hospital called BLINATUMOMAB which is an alternative to chemotherapy which tries to get her own immune system to recognise a protein found in her leukemia cells called CD19 and get her own immune system to try and destroy them as much as possible whilst waiting on a donor.

Obviously financially Aisling has been six months out of work with now no possibility of returning anytime soon, and the financial burden on her with two young kids is a worry for her at this present time. As anyone who has spent long terms in hospital will tell you it isn’t easy, and her road is about to get harder by having to relocate to Dublin in due course and have her transplant, this will be an emotional and also an expensive time for them. If anyone is in a position to donate no matter how big or small, it would be greatly appreciated or even if you could give it a share and keep Aisling and her family in your prayers it would mean a lot, we will keep ye updated as her journey progresses……..