Covid-19 in with cancer
also tested positive for Covid-19 at this stage and was forced to self-isolate at home.
‘At one point Dad was very sick too,’ Anna says. ‘He was in isolation in his bedroom, but his breathing got really bad. We thought we’d have to call an ambulance for him too and I’d have both parents in hospital with Covid-19 and not be able to see either of them.’
In the meantime, Mary rallied slightly and the family were invited to call in and see her again.
‘She had a bit more energy and she was asking for Dad,’ Anna recalls. ‘She told us to look after each other and love each other and she wanted to speak to her brothers and sisters to say goodbye. After this visit, we were pretty much told that Mam was going to die. We went home and it was just so strange. We were waiting on the phone to ring and every time it did, your heart sank.’
However, Mary was not throwing in the towel just yet.
‘I don’t know whether it was stubbornness or what, but she fought it off,’ Anna laughs. ‘Slowly her energy levels improved and she started eating again and doing a little bit of physio to get her strength back.’
With Seamus recovered from the virus, he was delighted to welcome his wife back home and family and friends lined the laneway as, having miraculously defied all of the odds, Mary arrived back home by ambulance.
‘She’s still very weak and tired, but every day she gets a little bit stronger,’ Anna said. ‘It really is a miracle. She wouldn’t be able to talk on the phone for long or anything because of her breathing, but she’s sitting drinking a cup of tea and watching telly here. I got engaged at Christmas, so we’re talking about the wedding in two years and she’s ready to fight and is looking forward to it.’
While Mary’s cancer remains incurable, it is treatable and having already proven her appetite for a fight, she and her family are feeling optimistic again for the first time in a long time.
‘I don’t know how, but she’s still here,’ Anna says. ‘We are so blessed and thankful. Mam received such wonderful care from her own doctor Anna Marie O’Brien, Beaumont, St Luke’s and all the staff at Wexford General, particularly St Brigid’s Ward, and even everyone at Fortune’s Chemists in town are so good to her. They all went above and beyond and we’re extremely grateful.’
Mary is providing a great source of inspiration and hope in what are difficult times for many. With charities set to struggle as a result of Covid-19 restrictions, the Thompson family are hoping to do their bit to help in some way and are urging people to donate what they can to the virtual Relay for Life Wexford. Any donations large or small will be gratefully received at www.relayforlifewexford.com/fundraisers/ annathompson.
In the meantime, Mary ‘Balboa’ is resting up and getting ready for her next big battle in the loving care of her grateful and proud family.
SHE’S STILL VERY WEAK AND TIRED, BUT EVERY DAY SHE GET’S STRONGER... IT REALLY IS A MIRACLE