a ko tyron The family makes a desperate plea to a man over 30 who has been diagnosed with a severe brain tumor.
Cormac McLaughlin, 38, received a devastating diagnosis a year ago while working as a teacher at a primary school in Hong Kong.
Residents of Castlederge first complained to the family last year of blurred vision and scrambled language, and their worst fears were confirmed after an MRI.
Due to the location of the tumor in the brain of the cormorant, doctors will not be able to operate on the damaged area.
Cormack married his current wife, Crystal, and they married only the day before Cormack returned home to confirm his diagnosis by doctors.
Now, Cormack’s brother, Darage, is campaigning to raise €250,000 to send Cormack to specialist care in the United States.
Speaking to MyTyrone, Drag said the family would do anything to save Cormac’s life.
“Cormac has always been a very down-to-earth and easy-going guy,” said Drag.
“He spent a few years teaching in Rome and loved it. He and his friend made a great contribution to founding the local GAA club there.
“He went to Hong Kong in 2016 and got a great job and there he met Krystal, his current wife.
They were nominated for Christmas before the pandemic, and were supposed to get married in Rome in July 2020, but then a pandemic hit.
By Christmas 2020, Cormack began to suffer from blurred vision and a bit of insult in his speech.
At first we thought it might be MS, but after further investigation in Hong Kong, they said it was a brain tumor.
“At that moment, I just told Cormack that he’s back home and we’ll find out.
“I went to my birthday party last year, picked it up at the airport and took it straight to Altnagelvin.
“They confirmed the conditions and in the following months we had a lot of help from the Belfast team.
“Unfortunately, this is a very aggressive tumor and where this is, this means that it cannot be operated on.
So it is a matter of managing it, combating it and finding alternative ways to prevent it from affecting our daily lives.
“The treatment he received at home was a first ever, but at this point we are only looking at any path.
“We will do everything we can to see if it works and see if it can react well.”
The family explored a variety of specialized treatments and new evidence that could help extend Cormack’s life.
The campaign raised more than 43,000 euros on the first day.
Drag added: “There are many options we will be looking at, but one of them has ended in Texas and we are very confident we can get there in the coming weeks.
“The reaction to it in the last 24 hours has been incredible, which in itself allows us to go and assess there.
“At this point, they are evaluating whether he qualifies to be one of the leading candidates for this process.
His brother said Cormac took it all freely and was determined to fight the disease.
Cormack was 37 when he was diagnosed and is now 38. He was supposed to marry in July 2020, but returned in July 2021.
He was diagnosed on Holy Thursday last year, and on Good Friday he booked a return flight from Hong Kong and he and Krystal got married on Saturday.
Then he came home on Easter Sunday and was in the hospital on Tuesday. It was a real storm of emotions.
“He took it with great dignity. It’s not very popular these days, but Cormack has great confidence.
“I remember when the doctor told him they couldn’t have the operation, his response was that he would have to live.
It was a different view of the information he was told. He’s having bad days, but overall he’s very positive considering what he’s got.
“For Cormack, he had to deal not only with everything he was going through, but also with the human part that he now lost.
The first year of marriage should be one of the happiest times of your life.
“Someone received bad news that hugging his wife wasn’t easy.”
The aide says the family is full of letters and offers the host has put together to raise money and thanks everyone who has supported so far.
“In the past 24 hours, we’ve had a lot of offers with letters and emails from Cormack’s peers, from his fellow footballers, from people he went to school with, and from people he worked with.
“People are very nice, and I don’t know what to say about her at this point.
“Some of the good stuff will throw it all away now because of the price of the items, but they’re digging deep and getting their hands in their pockets to help Cormack.
“It only improves the heart.”
If you would like to donate to Cormac’s treatment funding campaign, you can learn more at this link.
Source: Belfastlive
I’m an experienced news author and editor based in New York City. I specialize in covering healthcare news stories for Today Times Live, helping to keep readers informed on the latest developments related to the industry. I have a deep understanding of medical topics, including emerging treatments and drugs, the changing laws that regulate healthcare providers, and other matters that affect public health.
