Elizabeth returns home after undergoing surgery in Turkey
By Brendan Grehan
THE RETURN of Lucan woman Elizabeth McNicholas from Istanbul, Turkey, where she had a number of operations to combat her scoliosis, “was like Christmas, Easter and a Welcome Home party all rolled into one”.
Elizabeth, 28, has been confined to her bed for the last four years as her condition got worse.
Elizabeth McNicholas has undergone a number of operations
She spent three months in Istanbul under the care of Spinal Surgeon Prof Dr Ahmet Alanay.
In her Leaving Cert year, 10-years-ago, Elizabeth woke up one day and couldn’t move or stand, but she bravely studied through her pain and sat the exams on an overwhelming amount of medication.
She received enough points to study her chosen course. She deferred for two years and then managed to return to college for two years but again had to leave.
In 2014, her consultant in the Mater Hospital referred her to specialists at the Royal National Orthopedic Hospital (RNOH), Stanmore, United Kingdom.
Her parents, Brenda and John got in touch with the RNOH to arrange an appointment but were told that because it is an NHS run hospital, they couldn’t accept a private consultant referral. They can only accept a referral from the HSE.
Refused again
They were also told they could not pay for the treatment privately, it would have to be funded by the HSE. To compound matters they were refused by the HSE for the treatment abroad scheme. They appealed and were refused again.
Left without any option, since they are unable to receive appropriate care in Ireland, the family travelled to Istanbul last December on Christmas week, to meet world renowned Spinal Surgeon Prof. Dr Alanay.
Elizabeth underwent a number of operations and spent three months in the hospital, post-operation with her mother and her sister Una. The family raised funds for the operations through the Elizabeth McNicholas Trust.
She flew back to Dublin on Tuesday and got a rapturous welcome in Dublin Airport.
Una said: “It was Christmas week when we travelled to Turkey with just three days notice so we didn’t have time to sort everything before we left. We came home today to our Christmas tree and all the decorations still up which was quite a strange sight in April.
“We didn’t have time to open our Christmas presents before leaving so Dad and Seán had decided to leave everything in Elizabeth’s bedroom so that we could enjoy them when we came home.
“It was like Christmas, Easter and a Welcome Home party all rolled into one. We are really tired tonight after a long day of traveling. Unfortunately, Elizabeth is not feeling good as she still has an infection so we are hoping that she will feel much better after a good nights sleep in her own bed tonight.”
Tonight, Friday April 6, Elizabeth’s cousin Ben is holding a concert in The Kildrought Lounge in Celbridge at 7pm. Tickets are €10.
You can get tickets by ringing Paul on 0863008641 or by emailing teamelizabethmcnicholas [at] gmail [dot] com
