Every day, when the clock struck 11:11am, Dublin Biology teacher Niamh Foran, from Old Bawn, Dublin 24, would make the same wish.
asserted
Foran → strike → wish
She wished that her close friend and college contemporary, 29-year-old Edel Cashman, from Carrigtwohill, County Cork would get the call that could save her life.
uncertain
that → wish → life
Now, eight years after Edel received her life-saving liver transplant in October 2018, Niamh is taking on this weekend’s Irish Life Dublin Marathon, raising funds for the Irish Kidney Association (IKA), in the same month as the eighth anniversary of Edel’s transplant.
asserted
Niamh → receive → transplant
The 11:11 wish that began during Edel’s darkest days will also be present on race day, permanently etched on the sides of both women in the form of matching tattoos.
asserted
that → begin → tattoos
As a Biology teacher at Educate Together in Stepaside, Dublin 18, Niamh teaches her students about organs and how they function, but Edel’s experience has given the subject a deeply personal meaning.
asserted
experience → teach → meaning
I teach my students about human anatomy, including organs and how important they are to the body, but Edel’s story has given organ donation a very personal meaning for me,’ Niamh says.
asserted
Niamh → teach → me
‘When you see what an organ transplant can mean to someone’s life, it brings the science home in a very different way.’
asserted
it → see → way
Niamh chose to fundraise for the IKA because of its work promoting organ donation and transplantation through the Organ Donor Card, while also supporting people living with kidney disease and their families.
asserted
Niamh → choose → disease
Both friends are passionate about encouraging people to consider becoming organ donors and giving others the chance of a second chance at life.
asserted
friends → encourage → life
The two women met during their first year studying Agricultural Science at University College Dublin and became close friends almost immediately.
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women → meet → Dublin
Edel had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease at just nine years of age, which was managed with medication throughout her childhood and teenage years.
asserted
which → diagnose → years
But at the beginning of her second year at UCD, her health began to deteriorate, and she eventually had to take time away from college and return home to Cork, while continuing to travel to Dublin for regular appointments at St Vincent’s Hospital.
asserted
she → begin → Hospital
Edel had previously suffered a serious bout of sepsis in Autumn 2016, which had left her critically ill and in an induced coma.
asserted
which → suffer → coma
It was following this serious episode that Edel was placed on the transplant waiting list.
asserted
Edel → follow → list
After recovering from sepsis, medics had warned her about the symptoms to look out for and stressed the importance of going straight to hospital if they returned.
asserted
they → recover → hospital
It was from this point, while Edel was waiting for a suitable donor, that Niamh began her daily 11:11 ritual.
asserted
Niamh → wait → ritual
Every day, when the clock struck 11:11, she would make a wish that Edel would receive the call for her transplant.
asserted
Edel → strike → transplant
It was during this period, while Edel was travelling to Dublin for one of her regular clinic appointments at St Vincent’s, that she stayed overnight at Niamh’s parents’ home before her appointment the following day.
asserted
she → travel → appointment
That evening, Edel suddenly became extremely unwell.
asserted
Edel → become → ?
Recognising the symptoms from her previous experience with sepsis, she knew something was seriously wrong.
asserted
something → recognise → sepsis
Niamh immediately called a taxi and took her straight to St. Vincent’s Hospital, where Edel was admitted and her fears were confirmed.
asserted
fears → call → Hospital
Edel was gravely ill, and Niamh stayed with her through the night at the hospital until Edel’s mother could make the journey from Cork.
uncertain
mother → stay → Cork
Edel was later well enough to return home, where she continued to wait for a suitable donor liver.
asserted
she → return → liver
By the time Edel received the call that a suitable donor liver was available, she had spent 22 months on the transplant waiting list.
“I’ve always thought of 11:11 as a moment of synchronicity and a little reminder to stop, make a wish and focus on something positive,’ says Niamh.
asserted
Niamh → receive → something
‘So, I started wishing at 11:11 every single day that Edel would get the call for her transplant.
asserted
Edel → wish → transplant
I couldn’t do anything to change what was happening, so it became my little moment of hope for her.’
asserted
it → do → her
Niamh then decided to make the significance of 11:11 permanent.
asserted
significance → decide → 11:11
She had matching 11:11 bracelets made for the two of them and booked an appointment to have 11:11 tattooed on her side.
asserted
11:11 → have → side
Remarkably, just two hours before Edel got the call for her transplant, Niamh picked up the engraved bracelets from the jewellers.
asserted
Niamh → get → jewellers
‘When Niamh came to see me after my transplant with the bracelets, it was very emotional,’ Edel says.
asserted
Edel → come → bracelets
‘I knew about the 11:11 and she used to send me the screenshots every day, but I didn’t realise that her wish every single time was for me to get the call.
'
asserted
me → know → call
Then the bracelets arrived a couple hours before I got it.
asserted
I → arrive → it
It became something very special between us.’
asserted
It → become → us
After recovering from her transplant, Edel also got a matching 11:11 tattoo on her side, making the symbol a permanent reminder of their friendship and the journey they had been through together.
asserted
they → recover → friendship
Since her transplant, Edel has become a passionate advocate for organ donation and remains deeply grateful to the family of her deceased donor.
asserted
Edel → become → donor
She now lives in Carrigaline and, having grown up on her family’s poultry and dairy farm in Carrigtwohill, is pursuing a career in farm succession mediation.
asserted
She → live → mediation
Until mid-October, she works part-time as a Patient Support Officer at the Irish Kidney Association’s Munster Kidney Support Centre, close to Cork University Hospital.
asserted
she → work → Hospital
For Edel, the work at the Support Centre has brought her journey full circle.
asserted
work → bring → journey
It can be lonely because not everyone understands, and you don’t always talk about it as the years pass.
asserted
years → understand → it
'Being able to help other patients and families, particularly those with children, makes me think of my own parents and what they went through.
asserted
they → help → what
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
