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Volunteer drivers give cancer
patients a lift
27.02.12
More drivers badly
needed in Inishowen
by Linda McGrory
VOLUNTEER drivers are giving Donegal cancer patients
a lift in more ways than one as they drive them to
and from their hospital treatments at Letterkenny
General Hospital.
The drivers pick patients up at their own homes and
drop them off for their appointments. They collect
them again several hours later, saving many the
nightmare of a long bus journey home after sometimes
aggressive treatments.
The drivers are volunteers with the Irish Cancer
Society's Care to Drive scheme and give freely of
their time to help people with the disease. The
service is free of charge to patients. Care to Drive
manager, Olwyn Ryan, said the volunteers are making
life less stressful for cancer sufferers. She said
hospital staff are also reporting less lateness,
less rescheduling of appointments and patients
turning up a lot less worried.
"Imagine coming out of chemotherapy after a
four-hour session. You're tired and weak, and then
imagine having to take maybe an hour's bus journey
to your hometown and then having to get someone to
pick you up from the bus stop. It would be a
nightmare," said Ms Ryan. |
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Donegal Care to Drive volunteer,
Brigid Lyons, who drives cancer patients from their
homes to Letterkenny General Hospital. |
"Also, public transport
is, by its very nature, for the public. Putting
someone on a bus who has a low immune system is
really not ideal - coughs, colds and flu abound at
this time of the year. What's a sniffle to you and
me could be something much more serious to someone
who is undergoing treatment."
One volunteer is Brigid Lyons, an unmarried retired
teacher who lives in Letterkenny and drives patients
from around the county to the hospital. She drove a
cancer patient from the Greencastle area to the
hospital two days last week. The patient lives 60km
from Letterkenny, meaning four round trips totalling
480km. While the service reimburses Brigid for fuel,
the 16 or so hours involved over both days were
given freely by her. She has also driven cancer
patients from Carndonagh and Clonmany.
"I'm retired and I like driving anyhow. The service
is flexible and you only volunteer when you're
available. That appeals to me,” said Ms Lyons, who
is originally from Glenroe, Co Limerick. She first
came to Letterkenny in 1983 and worked all her
teaching life at the Loreto Convent where she
specialised in guidance counselling.
"I like taking people from their own door directly
to the hospital and taking the hassle out of the
journey for them. Just going for treatment must be
stressful enough." She says volunteering with the
programme is fulfilling.
"The clients are wonderful people and are so
uplifting. I've only heard humour and not a scrap of
self pity from them.” Care to Drive started as a
one-year pilot programme four years ago and has to
date helped some 360 clients around Ireland.
Eligible clients can vary from people who cannot
drive and have little or no family support; people
who aren’t allowed to drive because treatment is too
aggressive and those whose family members cannot
take time off work. It is currently partnered with
six hospitals and will add six more this year. Many
drivers are currently awaiting Garda vetting. Care
to Drive has 43 drivers in Co Donegal but more are
badly needed, particularly in Inishowen. Drivers
must have full, clean licences. If you would like to
learn more please visit
www.cancer.ie
or call project officer, Gail Flinter on 01 2310566. |
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