Straight Talking
LAST WEEK Dublin teenager Triona Priestly made national headlines when her idol, award winning singer Ed Sheeran, granted her dying wish by singing to her before she passed away, aged just 15.
The beautiful blonde teen had been battling Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and her amazing friends began an online campaign to make her final dream come true.
The story was so heartbreaking, yet inspiring. Unbelievable that someone so young could still die from this terrible disease, but uplifting that she at least got her final wish.
As regular readers of this column will know, CF is very close to my heart. My little girl is a sufferer, so as you can imagine, hearing the news that a 15 year old girl had passed away was a very sobering and terrifying reality check for me.
By nature, I'm an extremely positive person and have so much faith in the ongoing research and advancements in medicine that I have no doubt will impact significantly on my daughter's quality of life as she gets older. I simply have to think that way.
But on the other hand, the reality is that this awful disease is killing people all the time - even children - making calls for dedicated CF units a cross the country more important than ever.
Patient care is paramount in managing the disease and although campaigners have been stressing the need for proper, dedicat- ed facilities for years we're still fighting a losing battle and people are still dying way too young.
What Triona's death also highlighted though is the importance of organ donation. The young teen had been hoping to undergo a transplant, but unfortunately it wasn't to be.
Last week was organ donation week, where people were asked to consider signing up to be a donor.
It's all very well talking about and supporting an awareness campaign, but when it comes to organ donation we have to take action before it's too late. Triona's passing proved that.
If I had one wish right now it would be that everyone reading this would discuss organ donation with their family and make their wishes known today. Granted, it's not for everyone but if organ donation is something you support then make it clear now.
Of course nobody wants to think of their own death, but the reality is that people are dying because of so many others' inaction - so maybe now it's time we all make a difference while we still have a choice.