'Left in limbo' - Carlow doctor refused to put young girl on waiting list for surgery

A Carlow mother was on RTE's News at One amid new data from Children's Health Ireland showing hundreds of children's spinal surgeries were cancelled due to various reasons.

525 children have had planned spinal surgery cancelled over the last four years, according to new data from Children's Health Ireland.

The reasons for the surgery cancellations include children getting sick, other cases taking priority and intensive care beds not being available, according to CHI.

In a statement, the Department of Health said that the CHI aimed to avoid cancellations and that the situation was improving.

Máirín Nolan from Co Carlow, the mother of seven-year-old Roxanne had to travel to the United States due to the great difficulty of getting treated in Ireland.

Máirín told RTE in an interview, "Roxanne was born with a condition called arthrogryposis and that affects all of her limbs but she has also developed scoliosis at two-years-old.

Roxanne's arthrogryposis causes her arms to be locked straight, Máirín said in her interview, and her hands are together and they don't open.

Roxanne had to learn how to use her arms in a different way. She can't put her hands up to her mouth to feed herself, Máirín said.

The young girl was also born with her legs completely folded, dislocated hips and her knees were very tight and she had clubbed feet when she was born, Máirín said on RTE News at One.

"With all of that she did get around the house and did her own thing on the floor rolling...with children that have things like this they just want to play and have fun like everyone else," Máirín said.

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Máirín explained that her daughters scoliosis has worsened rapidly since she developed it at two-years-old.

She told RTE that she spent a lot of time going back and forth between her doctor, pediatrician and surgeons trying to get her daughter the help that she needed.

Máirín said that her doctor would see Roxanne every six months and he had told her he would get her the surgery after Christmas but "the years went by and he actually left on voluntary leave" and Máirín and her daughter "were just left in limbo after that".

"It was really really hard for me because I was looking at her with her legs folded knowing how she was going to grow she wouldn't be able to sit up anymore. I was extremely worried about her legs but I had no where to turn," Máirín said on RTE News at One.

Máirín said that she sourced out her own surgeon in the United States who specialises in spinal deformities and arthrogryposis.

"We went over to Florida last year we stayed there for three months. She got major hip and leg surgery done and she's actually sitting upright and her legs are moving; they're not locked anymore. She's in a really good place that way," the mother said.

Unfortunately, Máirín explained that her daughter's scoliosis has developed to 80 degrees now and she needs surgery to straighten her spine.

Roxanne, according to her mother, has been blocked from accessing any funding to go back to the surgeon in Florida and was refused the waiting list in Carlow because her spinal surgeon "wasn't ready to put her on the waiting list" after having just met her.

Máirín had to open up a GoFundMe again for the second time to get Roxanne's scoliosis surgery.

"My child is a very easy child. She goes to the Gaelscoil in Carlow. She just wants to learn and play but dealing with her healthcare in Ireland has been the most stressful thing for me".