'Crying for you, Mam': Cork family's relief after €14m court settlement
Melissa McCarthy with her son Calum McCarthy, 16, outside the High Court in Dublin. Picture: Collins Courts
A Cork mother has spoken of the joy and relief her family felt when they received a settlement and apology from the HSE last week.
Last Thursday, the High Court approved a €14m settlement for 16-year-old Calum McCarthy who has physical and cognitive impairments.
Calum had sued the HSE through his mother, Melissa McCarthy, over the care they received at St Finbarr’s Hospital on Douglas Rd, Cork, around his birth on October 31, 2006.
Mother and son received an apology on behalf of the Unified Maternity Services over “any shortcomings” of St Finbarr’s Hospital maternity unit that “may have contributed to difficulties” he has faced.
The €14m will go towards Calum's ongoing care needs and ensure that he can avail of support services into the future.
Speaking days after the court decision, Ms McCarthy has said that it feels like a dream as she never thought they would see the day that their long fight would truly be over.
"To finally be able to move on, to see Calum, he understood it in his own way, and you could see it on his face... he was happy it was over," she told Cork 96FM's .
Ms McCarthy explained what it meant to the family to have received the apology, something that she was not sure they would ever get.
She said that when they heard it, the reality of it all hit home for them.
When the apology was read out on Thursday, Calum burst into tears in the courtroom.
"I asked him: 'Why were you crying?', and he said: 'Mam, for you, for you'," said Ms McCarthy.
"That is what he said to me and I said: 'Oh my God'. He has the biggest heart."
It was important to Ms McCarthy to fight to get the settlement and apology in order for Calum to have a voice and be heard — something she did not feel she had at the time of Calum's birth.
"All of this case, I kept saying that I was never listened to, nobody asked me," she said.
The day of Calum's birth is one that Ms McCarthy remembers vividly. When he was born, she did not even know whether it was a boy or a girl when he was taken away to receive medical treatment.
He was christened at the hospital as they were not sure whether Calum would survive.
Calum was diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s disease, which affects the development of a baby’s intestinal nerve.
As he grew up, Ms McCarthy said she had to wait for every milestone unsure whether he would be able to crawl, walk, and talk.
All of these milestones were greatly delayed, Ms McCarthy said he was more than two years old before he hit them.
Ms McCarthy, who has two other sons, was forced to give up working in order to care for Calum, who will never be able to live alone.
A keen darts player, the teen has struggled both in school and his social life.
Having just sat his Junior Cert, it was a big milestone for Calum, but one that was hard won.
Ms McCarthy praised the work of the school and teachers to try to make things as easy as possible for him, but admitted there were many occasions when Calum was brought to tears.
With the case and exams behind them, Ms McCarthy said that they are looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the summer months.
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