One woman's run to fundraise for the hospital that treated her daughter's scoliosis

Cayla had her first operation aged four and regularly returns to Temple Street to be monitored 

Cayla McTiernan. 

In just over a week, mum-of-three Celine McTiernan will board a bus with a gang of six women and travel from Co Leitrim to Dublin to do the VHI Women’s Mini-Marathon.

The seven women – all friends and neighbours – are aged 35 to 60 and they’ve been training two or three times weekly since just after Christmas.

“Each time I try to do 7 or 8km. We’re getting there, and we’re very excited about it,” says Celine.

Celine and her friends are participating in a fundraiser for Temple Street Hospital, a cause dear to Celine’s heart because her youngest child, 11-year-old Cayla, has scoliosis and regularly attends the hospital.

It took time for Celine and her husband, Declan, to get a diagnosis for Cayla. “At nine months old, I was bathing her and I found a lump. I thought the worst,” recalls Celine, who met a locum at the GP clinic.

“He thought it could be a protruding muscle and Cayla would grow into it. I felt reassured, but then the locum rang back to say maybe I should bring her to casualty and get a second opinion. I was in bits.”

At Sligo University Hospital, medics thought a protruding muscle too, but the family were given an outpatient appointment. “I’d shown the lump to family members and they were saying ‘oh, it could be this or that’. Everybody had their bit to say, so we thought there was no harm in getting another opinion.”

It would be two years before Cayla received a definite diagnosis of scoliosis. In the intervening period, it was suggested she might have a kidney issue or tissue damage, neither of which it turned out to be.

Cayla – who has an older sister and brother, Shannon, 14, and Jamie, 12 – had her first scoliosis-related operation aged four when an extendable rod was placed in her back. Every six months, she needed a procedure to extend these. “We went on holiday just before Covid – one of the rods broke and she had a terrible infection. Now she’s rod-free.

“She’s being monitored, checked every six months, and her curve hasn’t got any worse in 18 months. Spinal fusion surgery will be possible but it’ll leave limited movement in her hips. Her doctor feels – because she’s living with it and she’s still growing – it’s best to wait until she’s 15 or 16. And then it’ll be her decision.

“At the moment, she’s able to manage her pain but if that were to change, I’d have to decide for surgery – anything to help her,” says Celine.

Vhi Women's Mini Marathon ambassador Roz Purcell at Killiney Hill in Killiney, Dublin. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile 

VHI Mini Marathon:

• In its 40th year, it takes place on Sunday, June 5 – the first physical event since 2019 for those who wish to walk/jog/run the 10km route.
• An estimated €226m has been raised for charity since it began in 1983.
• Register on www.vhiwomensminimarathon.ie. Participants receive VHI Women’s Mini-Marathon 40th anniversary medal, commemorative finisher t-shirt, access to official event app and 20% discount code for Intersport Elverys.
• Between now and June 5, follow @VhiWMM on social media, or visit www.vhiwomensminimarathon.ie for training plans tailored to all fitness levels, also nutrition support.