Teach na Leanaí row in to support CJ ahead of Paris Marathon
Teach na Leanaí Montessori in Fermoy undertook their own marathon of sorts on Tuesday, March 21 in an effort to raise funds for the Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH), as part of local man, CJ McCarthy's drive to aid the hospital, who now firmly sets his focus on the upcoming Paris Marathon.
In just under two weeks' time, CJ will be taking on the Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris as a means of fundraising to see dedicated rooms built at the CUMH. This fundraising effort comes as
CJ’s daughter’s life was saved by a midwifery team at the hospital, after little Lauren McCarthy was born nine weeks premature in 2021, weighing just 3lb.
At 31 weeks pregnant, Lauren’s mother, Aoife attended CUMH for an Anti-D injection and they found there was an issue with baby Lauren. Two days later, following a scan, the couple was told that an emergency C-section was needed.
“My wife was up for her Anti-D injection and they detected that Lauren’s heart rate was abnormal. Luckily, only for that, it could have been a whole different story," CJ previously told TheAvondhu.
“We spent about 6 weeks up in the CUMH in the neonatal ward. Even though it was Covid and it was very challenging times, I always said that if she ever got out of there, I would give back, because to me, the care she got was second to none”.
Lauren spent six weeks slowly building her strength in the neonatal ward of CUMH and is now happy and healthy, living with her family in Castlelyons.
FINAL PUSH
Now, the push is on to raise funds for a neonatal sanctum and parents’ room, to support other parents at the Wilton campus who may experience the same fate. When complete, the new facilities, funded by CUH Charity, will have cost an estimated €1 million.
The new neonatal sanctum will be a structure within the CUMH garden for parents to take a baby in palliative care, or for a seriously ill mother to access. The planned parents’ room will be a private area, separate from the unit but nearby – and a place where parents can take some time out from the clinical setting during a stressful time.
Both projects will help the parents of babies who are stillborn, premature or suffering from life-limiting conditions.
Speaking with The Avondhu, CJ explained that he is now on the last leg of the journey, with the Paris Marathon taking place on April 2.
“I’m doing my last long run on Sunday and that will last about 15 miles. I have two weeks of pulling back a small bit but it is all go now and I’ve managed to stay injury-free,” CJ said.
ENTHUSIASTIC RESPONSE
Lauren’s older sister, Zara, attends Teach na Leanaí Montessori in Fermoy who decided to support CJ in his efforts and arranged a large fundraising walk which saw both schools, Cork Road and Duntahane, as well as the afternoon group taking part on Tuesday, March 21.
Lisa Dorgan of Teach na Leanaí, who is also Lauren and Zara’s gran-aunt, said that there has been ‘great support’ shown towards the event, with around 70 children and many parents getting involved.
“Zara has been with us at Teach na Leanaí for the last two years and Lauren will be with us soon enough, so we thought it would be nice to help out. All the parents and kids decided to do the walk to help raise the money needed and support CJ.
“There was great enthusiasm and great excitement. The children are all wearing their runners and did their stretches and warm-ups, so it’s something different for them too,” Lisa said.
€20K PLUS
With CJ having raised around €20,000 for the cause so far, it is hoped that there will be a ‘ big push’ in the final weeks before the marathon.
“I’ve €20,000 raised so far and hopefully we can raise a lot more in the next few weeks. I’m hoping to see a big push. It’s all for a great cause," CJ said.
“It’s massive to have this support from Teach na Leanaí. It’s huge and to me, it’s great to see the support from everyone locally, in schools, work, friends, and colleagues, it makes it a lot easier. It’s great to see and I can’t thank them enough for their support. It’s less than two weeks to go for the marathon and I’m looking forward to getting it done and raising as much money as I can”.