Catherine's 40th Birthday
Catherine Quinn, (nee Murray) from Ballinascreen was the eldest of 7 children. Catherine met Danny 27 years ago, married and went on to have 3 beautiful children, Amy, Conor and Dara.
Nine years ago, Catherine became unwell and after numerous tests and procedures she was diagnosed with the condition Primary Pulmonary Hyper-tension. This is a debilitating disease of the lungs that can also affect the heart. As the Royal Victoria hospital in Belfast didn’t specialise in this field, she was then referred to Papworth Everard hospital, Cambridge, England. It was there that Catherine was told she would eventually need a double lung transplant and possibly a heart transplant as her condition would worsen.
Catherine endured years of rigorous tests, intrusive examinations and underwent procedures whilst being awake as a general anaesthestic was too high risk for her condition. In October 2009, after watching Catherine’s condition worsen, she was put on the transplant list for double lungs. Catherine was on the list for 1.5 years before receiving the all important ‘phonecall’. It was a Thursday evening, a few of Catherine’s family & friends were in Bellaghy to see her off and to look after the weans. [...continue reading >]
