Help support Geraldine

Welcome to our fundraiser for Geraldine and thank you for taking the time to read this. Christmas 2019 was set to be one of the happiest times of Geraldine and her husband David’s life. Both aged 52, the happy couple have been together since they were 14 years old and have two wonderful sons together, Calvin and Dean.

They were eagerly looking forward to the arrival of their first grandchild (due in early 2020) and planning for a new addition to the family. Geraldine began suffering from chronic back problems which became more and more painful as Christmas approached and she eventually had an MRI on Saturday, January 18th.

Geraldine was contacted on Monday morning January 20th to go straight to hospital as a suspicious shadow had been detected on her scan. After numerous tests in Tullamore hospital, Geraldine was diagnosed with cancer. Unfortunately, the cancer was further advanced than the doctors would have liked, and she was transferred to St James hospital where Geraldine underwent a few minor operations before chemotherapy could be carried out.

The following four months were spent undergoing chemotherapy with the hope of shrinking the tumour before the surgeons could operate and remove it. Unfortunately, the chemotherapy was unsuccessful and Geraldine had to undergo an intense five-week program of chemotherapy and radiation therapy together with the hope once again of shrinking the tumour.

The tumour is connected to vital organs and located in the pelvic area. In order to remove the tumour, part of the spine and pelvic bone may have to be paired away in the process of an extremely complex operation and there is a chance of damaging nerve endings.

COVID-19 has added to the already enormous complications involved and due to travel restrictions now in place, the surgeon, Mr Ian Jenkins, can only perform the surgery at St Mark’s Hospital in Harrow, London. This will mean that both Geraldine and her husband David will need to travel to London and isolate for two weeks in a hotel before Geraldine can have her operation. During this time, David will have to stay in the hotel and will not be allowed into visit his wife due to COVID-19 restrictions. Geraldine will be kept in St Mark’s Hospital for 2 weeks after the surgery also so David will need to stay in a hotel for at least one month in London before returning home to Ireland to care for his wife.

The operation must be carried out within eight weeks of the completion of the chemotherapy and radiation treatment, so the Doctors have advised it is likely to be mid-October for the operation. Once Geraldine and David return from London, David will need to take at least another month off work to care for Geraldine until she becomes mobile again and it is very likely that he will not be able to return to work until January 2021 at the earliest.

We have created this GoFundMe page with the hope of giving David & Geraldine some much need peace of mind in these extremely difficult times with some medical bills, accommodation, flights as well as household and utility bills all to be paid while both of them remain out of work.

Thank you for taking the time to read Geraldine & David’s story and please help support them in anyway you can.