CF sufferers' hope is fading fast
It has been revealed that the tender process for the long-awaited cystic fibrosis (CF) unit is not working, as the lowest tender failed to get the required finance in time.
The unique tender process, under which the company needs to finance the build and get paid on completion, was given to us as a solution when we campaigned to the Government last year. It is now more obvious than ever that this was a ploy to keep us quiet.
We are tired of writing letters to newspapers and TDs. We are tired of giving out. We are tired of being optimistic. It is unfair to expect us to fight again for more broken promises.
The awareness of the plight of people with CF is at an all-time high. Everyone knows the risks of us picking up potentially fatal infections on admission to shared wards; that our next hospital visit could be our last.
What we are asking for is standard in every other first-world country. We are not looking for gold-plated oxygen tanks!
Our hope is fading and we are asking for your help once again. I don't want this fight to end when we are eventually silenced by picking up an infection in a sub-standard facility of "care".
What more can we all say?
Maria Daly
Person with CF,
Carlow Person of the Year -- Courage Award 2010,
Marino, Dublin 3
Irish Independent
