A distraught teenager has pleaded for help to save her mum's life after being told she has less than five years until she's fully immobilised.
Caoimhe Delaney said she's terrified of losing her beloved mum, Debbie, who has been suffering from lymphedema and lipedema — two debilitating physical conditions that involve severe swelling of limbs, usually the legs. Debbie desperately needs to undergo gastric bypass surgery to get rid of the fluid buildup in her body, but the current HSE wait list is five years long.
Caoimhe told Dublin Live: "Doctors are saying we need to get her the surgery as soon as possible because she doesn't have another five years in her. She will be completely immobilised at that point."
Read more: Single mum's plea for help after being told son 'would never walk'
Caoimhe and her family are hoping to go private due to the long waiting list. She added: "Although this surgery is usually done for cosmetic reasons, it's not cosmetic in her case. She needs the surgery to survive."
Debbie, 44, had shown symptoms of the conditions nearly all her life, but she only got diagnosed six years ago. Caoimhe, 17, said: "She was always told it was a weight issue, related to her diet. And then six years ago, she woke up with pain in her groin and she thought it was just muscle spasms.
"She was severely ill for 16 weeks straight, was put on 294 antibiotics, and nearly died in the back of an ambulance." Debbie was referred to an expert in St James's Hospital who told her she had been "the worst case she had seen in a long time".
Caoimhe said: "That's when she was diagnosed and it's been downhill since then." Debbie currently has a rugby ball-shaped lump behind her left knee.
All the built-up fluid and fat has turned into a tar-like substance, so none of the normal treatments for lymphedema like lymphatic massages and compressions work for her. Caoimhe added: "My mam can’t bend her knee, she can’t lift her legs very well.
"It’s impossible for her to walk. The lymph nodes in her neck have basically gone so she’s very flush in the face."
Caoimhe said Debbie is in the end stages, which can lead to lymphatic cancer. She said: "The surgery will help her lose the extra fluids and fats. Once she’s lost the weight, she'll be able to do lymphatic massage, compression wraps, and lymphatic drainage on the buildup.
"It will give her more options. There is no cure for it unfortunately but it gives her the option to manage it and it'll give her a chance at life again."
You can donate here to help Caoimhe raise vital money needed for her mum's life-saving surgery.
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