Irish mum was 'in danger of internal bleeding' after noticing odd symptom on legs

An Irish mum has urged other women to sign up for a 6km run to help the hospital which restored her health after a serious blood disorder diagnosis.

Lynn McCarthy spent a month in Cork University Hospital recovering from aplastic anaemia, a rare condition caused by bone marrow failure, which leaves it unable to create new blood cells and platelets.

Recalling her health nightmare in April last year, mum-of-two Lynn, from Carrigaline, said: “They did lots of blood tests, they thought it was leukaemia at first and asked me loads of questions about my life, trying to figure out what was wrong with me.

“My blood was like water, it wouldn’t clot. Over the coming days they found out I had aplastic anaemia, which meant I was in danger of internal bleeding.”

Almost 18 months on, she has bounced back to health and is taking on the Echo 6km Women’s Mini Marathon on Sunday, September 21.

And she is asking runners and walkers to sign up for the event at echolive.ie/minimarathon/ to raise money for the hospital’s fundraising arm, CUH Charity.

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In spring last year, after noticing unusual bruising on her legs and her energy levels plummeting, Lynn, 41, put it down to her busy life as a mother to two schoolgirls.

Just hours after a blood test at her GP surgery, she received a call from CUH telling her she had to be immediately admitted.

She spent a month in hospital being treated with medication and receiving blood transfusions to bring her blood count back to normal.

“When you’re there 24/7 at home and then you’re gone, it was a trauma. I never felt so anxious in my life, leaving my little girls and not knowing what was ahead of me,” said Lynn.

“I remember one of the consultants, Professor Mary Cahill, telling me: ‘this is the first day of your recovery’.

“If the medication hadn’t worked, I would have been exposed to a lot of infections.

“I can’t thank people enough for the countless pints of blood they donated to try to stabilise mine until the doctors figured out what was wrong with me.”

The ‘amazing’ care she received at CUH, mainly under consultant haematologist Vitaliy Mykytiv and staff of Ward 2D, has inspired Lynn to return to her beloved jogging to raise money for CUH Charity.

Having completed the Cork City 10k for the same cause earlier this year, her sights are now firmly set on the Echo 6km.

“They are people I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

“It was such a scary time. I would say to all women, there’s no show without you, you can’t pour from an empty vessel.

“You have to listen to your body, if it’s telling you something, you can’t ignore it.

“Everything is normal now, but they’ll (CUH) watch me for another five years. It has made me realise what’s important in life and what isn’t.”

Register for the race at www.echolive.ie/minimarathon/ and log onto cuhcharity.ie to request a t-shirt or share your story about why you are raising funds for CUH Charity.