Lavey family raise money for palliative care charity

A family who lost their husband and father to cancer in May of this year have pulled together to raise funds for the local hospice in memory of their loved one.

Matthew Reilly from Poles, Lavey, passed away in Cavan General Hospital on May 24 last after battling the dreaded C for 20 months.

His wife Caroline said it was an emotional time for the family: “He spent five weeks in Cavan General and the hope was to get him home, but that wasn’t to be.”

Speaking to the Celt at the cheque presentation last week, Caroline praised the “brilliant” team at Cavan General for Matthew’s care and said, despite the sadness, there were also fun times.

“There was no limit on us getting into the hospital. The room was ours. My husband had a quick wit, loved talking about football and enjoyed the comings and goings of the staff and the banter with them,” said Caroline.

A total of €2,600 was raised from a combination of fundraisers, including money being given in lieu of flowers at Matthew’s funeral and the mini marathon. “My sister Fiona and myself did the mini marathon and Aisling (daughter) actually took part in the 10 kilometers, together with my nephew, Adam,” said Caroline.

Knitted bags for Morphine pumps

Aisling and her friends at Killyconnan NS also started knitting bags to hold morphine pumps for patients believing them to be more personal and softer than the hard plastic bag that usually comes with the pump.

School principal Fidelma Daly supported the drive. “When we returned to school, we all started knitting the bags in class and fourth and fifth classes participated. It took us up to five weeks to complete the knitting of them,” revealed Aisling.

“I am delighted to hand them over to Nurse Hoey here this evening. Hopefully they will help other families in a similar position to ours last May,” she added.

Jimmy O’Donnell from the Cavan Monaghan Palliative Care Fund said he wished to sincerely thank the Reilly family for their most generous donation.

“This means a lot to the team – it will ensure there are funds in place to help other families. If it was not for people like this, the fund would not exist.

“Aisling, who is in fifth class in Killyconnan NS, was the instigator of all this by hitting on the idea to start knitting the bags with shoulder straps to carry the morphine pumps. This is in memory of her dad, Matthew Reilly, who sadly passed away last May.”

Sinead Hoey, palliative nurse in Cavan General Hospital said: “We encountered this family back in late April of this year. We spent a lot of time together and I was hugely inspired by their bravery and stoicism – there was happiness in the middle of terrible sadness.

“From the get go, when Aisling saw the little Morphine pump bags, decided she would like to do something in relation to knitting a version of the bags. It is a painstaking process to make these bags for us.

“We have relied on the public to make these bags for us for the past two years and the response has been brilliant,” said Nurse Hoey.

“I thank each and every one of them from the bottom of my heart,” concluded the palliative nurse.