Dad to beat pain barrier to thank hospital staff

A grateful father, who was recently diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and viral meningitis, has vowed to push himself to the limit today and complete the Dublin marathon to pay back the hospital staff who saved his twin babies’ lives.

Des and Susanne Lynch are convinced their one-year-old twins, Matthew and Noah, would not have survived their premature birth but for the professionalism of the medical staff at Dublin’s Coombe hospital.

The boys, who turned one earlier this month, were born premature at 27 weeks, both weighing under 1.3kg.