Brave Fíadh battles rare form of cancer

A GRAIGUECULLEN family is facing an agonising ordeal as their beautiful four-month-old daughter and granddaughter battles a rare form of leukaemia in Australia. Little Fíadh Vicky Hoolan Derich is currently undergoing intensive chemotherapy in a Melbourne hospital, her devastated parents Sara Hoolan and Nathan Derich along with grandparents Peader and Ruth Hoolan from Sleaty, Graiguecullen at her side.

In a tragic twist of fate, Fíadh was diagnosed with leukaemia on the day her grandparents and aunt Laura arrived from Ireland to Darwin, Australia to meet their beloved granddaughter and niece for the very first time.

“What was supposed to be our first family holiday, and the first time my family got to meet our sweet little angel, quickly turned into what will eventually be at least a six-month hospital stay interstate, away from all our friends and family,” said Sara.

Fíadh was immediately rushed to Melbourne so the Hoolan family just managed to meet her for a few minutes on a Darwin runway just before her care jet flight departed for Melbourne.

“We got a call to say the Fíadh and Sara were being rushed to Melbourne and we could not change our flight plans. However, after three long flights, almost 36 hours because of stop-overs, we were rushed by some of Sara’s friends from the airport to go to the care flight jet, so we could get five minutes to see them,” explained Peader.

“Not a nice way to get to meet your granddaughter. But I have to thank the care flight crew, who assured us they were in good hands,” he added.

Fíadh’s diagnosis is a rare one, with only around one child in Australia being diagnosed each year. She began her intense chemo treatment immediately, with sickness and viruses almost inevitable as her little body continues to fight.

A few weeks later, Peader and Ruth went to Melbourne for ten days to try to comfort and ease the burden on Sara and Nathan and to spend time with their beautiful granddaughter.

“They have a long, long hard time ahead. It looks like it will be another six months before they leave the wonderful hospital in Melbourne to return home to Darwin where they live,” Peader told The Nationalist.

“Sara and Nathan will be watching their child in hospital until possibly February next year, a very draining experience for any parent to have to go through,” he added.

Sara’s friends in Darwin and the Irish community there have rallied to assist the family, supporting Peader, Ruth and Laura during their time in Australia and also setting up a GoFundMe page to support Fíadh at this very difficult time.

‘It has been heart-wrenching watching such a little innocent thing being poked and prodded and going through what she has and we can only imagine what is ahead of us and her,’ Sara said in a post on Fíadh’s GoFundMe page.

“Fíadh is such a strong little girl and is doing such an amazing job, still smiling and being her inquisitive little self every day, but she does have a long road ahead of her before she can even go outside, let alone get home.

“We know we still have a long way to go and it won’t be easy being stuck in a hospital or watching our sweet little girl go through treatment for the next six months, especially being so far away from everyone and not being able to earn an income during this time, but it well and truly warms our hearts to know how many people are thinking of her and us through the whole process.

“It is hard to think that so many of her firsts will be in this tiny hospital room and knowing we can’t take her pain away, but it will all be worth it when she comes out the other side,” said Sara. “The support we have and continue to receive has been overwhelming and will never be forgotten. Our sincerest gratitude to everyone.” After three weeks, Laura returned to Graiguecullen, while Peader and Ruth are due to return home this weekend.

“We are in Darwin now and leave here on the 24th, so only a couple more days before we fly home. It is going to be a hard trip home leaving Australia. As I said earlier, we were looking forward to two months spending time with our precious grandchild,” said Peader.

Fíadh’s condition was discovered when the three-month-old was having lower than expected weight checks over a few weeks and had very pale skin.

“I’d like to let other parents be aware of Fíadh’s condition and to warn other parents whose child is not putting on weight, has real pale skin and does not appear to be growing not to be afraid to seek medical help – it’s better to catch this leukaemia early,” he said.

Peader offered a huge thank you from the Hoolan family and Sara’s friends in Darwin. “A massive thank you to those who took the time and their hard-earned cash to donate to the GoFundMe page for little Fíadh and I know plans are in place to have a night out to raise money for the cause by the Irish community in Darwin,” he said.

“We will continue to have everything crossed that all goes well and she comes out even stronger on the other side, and we are counting down the days ’til we can say our sweet little girl is cancer-free,” said Sara.

To support the family, go to www.gofundme.com/f/donate-to-help-baby-fiadh-through-leukaemia-treatment.