Mary Tierney has a hand sanitiser and a notice appealing to visitors to wash their hands attached to her front door at her home in Castlegar.
It was one of the first self-protection measures the patient rights’ activist and health campaigner took when concern began to mount about the rapid spread of the coronavirus.
Recovering from a recent major health condition makes her particularly vulnerable to infection and she is not taking any chances.
“We all have to be personally responsible and treat the virus with the seriousness it deserves,” says Ms Tierney who was diagnosed with a rare cancer in 1998 which subsequently requires her to use crutches or a wheelchair. In addition, she suffered a heart attack last year.
"I am scared of the virus because my health is compromised right, left, and centre," she says. "Because of the heart attack I have reduced heart function and there is also the issue of the cancer and the [consequent] immobility. God forbid if I got the coronavirus."
Yet she refuses to be defeated either by ill health or the fear of contracting Covid-19 and urges people to stay strong, behave sensibly, heed the advice of the professionals, and most of all, count their blessings.
“I believe that the glass is always half full,” says the mother-of-four who believes that this way of thinking has never been more important for all of us.
“We Irish are good at standing shoulder to shoulder and looking out for each other. The importance of best practice cannot be over-emphasised. We must take ownership of our health, we cannot shirk this.
"We must act responsibly, trust our healthcare professionals, and appreciate there are valuable life lessons that we can learn as we cope with these challenging times.”
Mary knows more than most the value of resilience, strength of purpose, and determination and how these highly prized personal assets can help transform our lives even when staring at what initially may appear to be insurmountable obstacles.
New reality
While major illnesses, ongoing health limitations, and a radical change in her quality of life have certainly affected her day to day living, she has found ways of working around the new reality she was first presented with 22 years ago.
"I am a kind of think-outside-the-box person," says the mother of four (two sons and two daughters ). By and large I am positive because I realise I am very lucky."
She believes her family, friends, "great" medical support, strong Catholic faith, and hobbies will stand in her good stead during the days and weeks ahead. Equally, her heightened awareness of the importance of regular handwashing and indeed her can-do attitude will also pay dividents.
"I have been very aware for the past 20 years of infection and the risk it imposes [to people]," she says. "When I am in hospital I put stickers on on my bedhead requesting people to wash their hands and also on my pyjamas."
Mary was 50 years old when she was diagnosed in 1998 with chondrosarcoma, a rare form of cancer that usually begins in the bones. The most common locations for such tumours are in the pelvis, hip, and shoulder. Two of her children were in college and one was in secondary school at that stage.
"I was very stressed for years due to ongoing pain, I would scream and roar. The pain was there all the time but at different levels. I knew there was something wrong but no-one believed me. One doctor said I needed a hip replacement but then the GP said there was nothing wrong with my hip." Eventually, she was diagnosed with cancer.
"It was between my hip and pelvic bone. I had to go to England for surgery as it was not available here. I spent four months in hospital - three months lying on my back - and was in a brace when I returned home. It took me a long time to recover as the surgery was massive - they removed a lot of muscle and bone. I cannot walk unaided since the operation, I use crutches and a wheelchair.
"The cancer completely changed my life. I would walk from Castlegar to town before the operation. Now I can only walk 100 metres and then I have to stop and rest. It was a very stressful time at the start and I was getting a bit under the weather as I was used to being active. But I overcame it. My friends said I should see a psychologist. I didn't but I found my own ways of coping. I did a lot of mindfulness." She also practiced visualisation and found healing both in reliving precious memories and in communing with nature.
Innovative ways
As she lay in her hospital bed she found innovative ways of connecting with the outdoors. "I looked for a mirror and I used that to see the tree outside and to watch the birds, the flower buds, and the seasons." She recalled happy times when she was active and used these as motivating forces.
"I would lie there [in hospital] and twitch my toes and imagine I was climbing Mount Gable outside Clonbur. I used to climb it when I was well. I still go out there and I have climbed about 100 metres of it since."
Mary had surgery again in 2005 at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in England. "It was a similar operation to what I had had before. I was in such a positive mood for the second operation as I knew what was ahead of me. I knew I could do it, I pictured myself on that mountain."
She suffered a heart attack last April despite, she says, never having had high blood pressure or other risk factors. She was told she was the healthiest sick person in the hospital!
"I got a pain in my chest and it was investigated (I had an ECG ) and I was told I was not having a heart attack, it could be indigestion or that I was very stressed. The pain stopped and I was discharged from hospital and I took some indigestion remedies. "
But something that a paramedic told her at a CPR course acted as a red flag for her. "His name was Dara and he said never ever presume a pain in the chest is indigestion. I didn't have a heart attack that time in hospital but two weeks later I did.
"I woke up with a similar pain as before in my chest but it was more severe. I have always had a very high pain threshold which can be dangerous! Again I thought it was indigestion as I didn't have high blood pressure or anything. I was referred to hospital where they did an ECG and it showed up I had a severe heart attack. They told me I was a very lucky woman. They put in two stents as I had a 95 per cent blockage in my main artery and another in another one. It did a lot of damage to my heart, I had only 20 per cent heart function. This has only increased a few per cent since."
Yet despite life threatening illnesses, numerous operations, infections, and gruelling treatment the patient rights' advocate continues to bounce back. She has travelled extensively (she loves cruises as she does not like flying ), is an avid reader of books (crime mainly ), and newspapers ("I don't red the red tops except the Galway Advertiser!" ), and continues to lead a full life.
She credits being hand hygiene conscious with protecting her health and says this practice coupled with social distancing must be to the forefront of all our lives now.
"I always carry a tiny hand sanitiser in my pocket as well as alcohol wipes. I have always used these to wipe the handles of shopping trolleys. I keep a sanitiser in the car as well. WWW (wash, work, wash ) was always my mantra. This is a challenging time and we must be self aware. I have been an advocate for better health services and best practice all my life. If everybody does their fair share we will all benefit. Don't put yourselves at risk, it is especially important to listen to the healthcare professionals and trust them. I have always put my complete trust in the medical profession and it has never been found wanting.
"We must act sensibly and stay levelheaded and be aware that there is misinformation and negativity out there. Make sure you get your information from reputable sources. It is very easy to rant and rave but we must be positive and realise any reckless behaviour or thoughtless words will damage people. It is important to look at the broader picture and look for the light at the end of the tunnel."
