Ida’s Story:

Bridget Walsh, fondly know as Ida, was 92 years of age when she passed away last October. Her daughter, Lorraine, tells us about Ida’s last few weeks and why having access to a ‘Family Room’ was so important at that time.

“Bridget, or Ida as she was fondly known, was a wonderful Mam to Karen, Greg and myself, and had five grandchildren whom she loved dearly. In early 2019 Mam was diagnosed with dementia – and, as it does for many, dementia took away much of her love for life and the ability to find joy in her surroundings. In June 2019, she went to live in Beneavin Nursing Home.

On October 14^th last year, Mam was unwell and the nursing home phoned for an ambulance that took her to the Mater Hospital. She was diagnosed with influenza. Initially, she was cared for on St Cecilia’s ward. A number of x-rays and scans were taken of her lungs and she was treated with antibiotics, nebulisers and oxygen. Unfortunately, despite this, her health continued to fail.

On October 21^st, the care team informed us that Mam was unlikely to have the strength to recover and that she needed palliative care. On Tuesday, October 25th, Mam was moved to a Family Room in St Raphael’s Ward. As a family, we were so grateful for this facility. The staff in the ward were incredibly kind and compassionate towards our Mam in the final week of her life – and indeed to us as a family. This facility allowed my sister and I to stay with her every night, and all day during her last week, which was hugely important to us. Plus, we had a side room with sofa beds and a kitchen area where visitors could come sit and chat.

The palliative care team are extraordinarily caring people and we will always be so thankful to each and every one of them for their kindness and support. Mam passed with such dignity and for that we will always be grateful. Thank you to everyone in the Mater Hospital who played a role in Mam’s care, however small, in the last weeks of her life.

Since her passing, we have made a donation to the Mater Foundation on Mam’s behalf. We cannot emphasise enough the importance and comfort of having facilities such as Family Rooms for patients and their families – and the Foundation can help in this regard. Karen and I also joined in with the Mater Foundation’s Remembrance Walk fundraiser on Sunday, 27^th November 2022. It was such a beautiful morning, and a wonderful atmosphere to remember in. We will be back every year to celebrate our Mam.

One final challenge we have set ourselves is to take part in this year’s Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon on June 4th. We are running as part of the Mater Foundation team, once again raising funds to help support wonderful projects such as the Family Rooms that provide such comfort – Lorraine O Murchu is fundraising for The Mater Foundation (justgiving.com).”

You can be a part of, or support, the Mater Foundation’s Women’s Mini Marathon Team here – https://www.materfoundation.ie/event/womens-mini-marathon/

Tell Us Your Story

We want to hear from you – our community – about what makes The Mater Hospital special for you. Patient care is at the heart of everything we do here in the Mater Foundation, and we work closely with doctors and nurses to identify what patients and their families need most, during their hospital journey.

Perhaps you have an experience of being treated in the hospital that you’d like to share? Maybe you have been inspired to raise funds or take part in one of our campaigns, events, or fundraising challenges to help those needing treatment, and their families, when they attend The Mater Hospital? Whatever your story is, we’d love to hear it.

Interested? Please fill out the short form on this page – and we will be in touch with you directly. We won’t share any story until we have your consent for how and where it will be told.