‘People stare and you want to yell it’s not my fault, I have an illness’

BILLY O’MAHONY has lost all faith in the Irish health service.

Years of doctors dismissing his symptoms, blaming his swelling on obesity and now the Health Service Executive’s (HSE) refusal to fund his treatment for a painful, disabling disease has left him disillusioned.

Mr O’Mahony, aged 60, lives in Midleton, Co Cork. A maintenance electrician by trade, he still works but in a greatly diminished capacity.