A kindhearted Dublin doctor has raised over €20,000 for one of his young quadriplegic patients.
Dr. Aidan Hampson, who has been a GP for 43 years, did a 24km swim along with Frank Cope, Dave Cherry, Eoin Boyle, and Damien Kelly. They were the first ever relay team to swim from Lambay to Bull Island all in aid of Family Carers Ireland.
Dr. Hampson, who is based in Artane, comes from a family of doctors including his grandfather, father, sister and two daughters. The 70-year-old had prostate cancer 10 years ago and last January he had a recurrence of it, but nothing stopped him from completing the swim for his patient.
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He told Dublin Live: “Jack O’Donovan is a patient of mine, he’s 19 and he was severely brain damaged at birth. He’s quadriplegic, has epilepsy, is a wheelchair user, he is PEG-fed and he’s non-verbal.
"But he can talk with his smile, he lights up the room. Jack is my hero, his mother Lyndsey is my superhero. Herself, her husband Cathal and the three sisters, they’re absolutely amazing people.
“All I can do is offer him painkillers or antibiotics, I cannot cure the problem.
"Last Christmas I decided to do something for this family, something mad, something ridiculous. I’m a swimmer so I decided to swim 24km with other swimmers. We all went into heavy training to do this maybe four days a week.”
Lynsey, who is from Swords, introduced Dr. Hampson to Family Carers Ireland. He never heard of them beforehand. In Ireland, there are 500,000 plus carers and they help those people.
He said: “Lynsey was on Ryan Tubridy last Friday. He asked her if she had a magic wand, what would she wish for. She said she’d wish for a night's sleep because she’s up 10-12 times a night turning Jack.
“This swim was to raise funds and to put Family Carers Ireland on the map. They provide support, organise respite for carers, they put the carers front and centre. Their motto is who looks after the carer and a carer should never have to look after anybody on their own.”
Crowds gathered at Bull Island on Saturday afternoon to cheer the relay team through their final strokes of the 24km challenge. A heavy current hit them as they tackled Dublin Bay, but they persevered and completed the historic swim in 6 hours 45 minutes.
“We thought it’d take 10-12 hours to do it,” Dr. Hampson continued. “It was very dangerous so we organised a strong safety plan. We had an excellent boat and sailors to guide us in case we got into trouble.
“It was all weather dependent. We were praying we’d be okay. On Saturday, five of us left Howth at 6:30am and we reached Lambay Island at 7:15am.
"The weather Gods shone upon us, it was brilliant, there were no waves, it was warm.
“Nobody knew what it was going to be like, I was amazed. The water was clear. We did a relay, we swam for 30 minutes and the next person took over.
"It was beautiful. I never felt so at peace with the world on that swim. I could see all around me, we even met the dolphins. I even had the privilege of swimming around the Bailey Lighthouse
“Jack, his family and all the senior staff from Family Carers Ireland were there to meet us at the end. It was a beautiful experience for every one of us.”
Family Carers Ireland is the national charity supporting the 500,000+ family carers across the country who care for loved ones such as children or adults with additional needs, physical or intellectual disabilities, frail older people, those with palliative care needs or those living with chronic illnesses, mental health challenges, or addiction.
It provides a range of practical services and support for family carers through its Carer Support Centres nationwide and through its National Freephone Careline 1800 24 07 24.
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