My son, Lorcán Mullan, who has died aged 23, was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a severe congenital heart disease that required three open heart surgeries by the time he was five.
Despite a lifetime dealing with health issues he never let those difficulties define him. Even when he went on to develop protein loss enteropathy (PLE) in his teens his response was always to look at what he could do to make himself better. As he grew up, though, it was his dyslexia that seemed to be his biggest obstacle.
Lorcán was supported by many remarkable NHS professionals who knew they could make a difference for him. Most recently he was in the Freeman hospital in Newcastle waiting for a heart transplant when he developed an infection that took too great a toll on his weakened body. All the medics commented on his grasp and detailed knowledge of his illness and how he faced up to its challenges.
Lorcán was born in Belfast. His mother, Roisin McPhilemy, is an academic, and I am also an academic and heritage professional. Lorcán attended Lagan college, and was an aspiring chemist who studied chemistry at the Open University. He wanted to work in the field of nanotechnology. Seeking to overcome his dyslexia, he threw himself into learning, maintaining his ambitions and belief that life could offer much to him.
He became expert in mycology, growing various edible fungi in his room. His intelligent use of the internet challenged my assumptions about the primacy of book-based learning. He applied a keen critical eye to everything and developed a great interest in philosophy, politics and the meaning of life. His bookshelf included the Qur’an, the Bible and Harry Potter. His interests were captured carefully in writing, using his prized fountain pen, in his treasured Moleskine notebooks.
Perhaps his greatest interest was cooking – he was always looking at ways to boost his protein levels so severely compromised by PLE. Our kitchen was often taken over by the making of bone stocks, which usually took a day or more. He also made his own tare sauces and experimented with Asian recipes. Even in hospital this passion drove him as he worked away researching and collecting the recipes he planned to make when he got home after heart transplantation.
Lorcán is survived by his daughter, Eden, and Eden’s mother, Sophie, and by Roisin and me, his sister, Étaín, and his grandmother, Anne.
