‘I was grand until suddenly I wasn’t’: Cork woman urges people to listen to their bodies

A persistent pain in her shoulder blade turned into an epic cancer battle for one Cork woman that saw her hospitalised and in isolation for weeks on end.

Megan Dalton Rafferty, from Togher, initially put the nagging ache down to how she had slept.

“A week later it was still there and nothing I did would get rid of it,” recalled Megan, 30.

However, as the pain persisted, it began to impact her sleep, so she sought medical advice and was prescribed medication that had severe side effects.

“I’m nearly six foot tall and my legs would randomly go dead and I’d almost be dragging them around after me. My concentration was also hit. I was working as a social-media manager and I’d find myself just staring into space, and one of the weirdest things of all was that my eyes started retaining fluid and swelled, and so with the bags under my eyes from not sleeping, it looked like I had been punched.”

Megan can almost see the amusing side now, but at the time she was ‘tearing her hair out’ trying to get to the root of her pain.

“I had an MRI scan and I was disappointed when it came back clear because I knew something wasn’t right, and I needed to know what it was. It constantly felt like there was a gremlin in my shoulder,” she said.

A blood test ultimately diagnosed the cause and it was nothing Megan had expected: BCell ALL (Acute lymphoblastic leukemia), blood cancer.

“I being called to CUH after the blood test which had showed up low red and white cells, and my legs were going from under me, and I had problems breathing. Everything was starting to get worse at that stage. It took me 15 minutes to walk a corridor that should have taken one minute,” said Megan, who was 27 at that time.

“A bone marrow biopsy was taken that day in CUH and the word leukaemia was mentioned, which was something I hadn’t been expecting. But when the diagnosis was confirmed later that day, I honestly felt relief as I finally had my answer.

“I was told to pack a bag and that my first treatment was the following day.”

That was at the end of 2021 and her treatment regime saw her spend four weeks in isolation in CUH, followed by a few days at home, a cycle that was on repeat for 10 months.

“My doctors didn’t mince their words and said that the treatment was going to be hard, but it’s not like I thought it was ever going to be a walk in the park,” said Megan matter-of-factly.

Day-to-day, she managed being on her own relatively well, she said.

“There were days when my body felt fine and my mind was half asleep and others when it was the opposite, but in some ways I was lucky as I’m an introvert and can entertain myself until the cows come home.

“I had all my technology and when I was sick of screens, I turned to adult colouring books. It was a kind of mindfulness.

“This was all happening during covid and my mum was allowed in for the occasional short visit. She was also visiting my grandmother in a nursing home so was vigilant with her covid tests.”

Megan hit an unexpected obstacle when she contracted sepsis, which saw her end up in ICU in April, 2022.

“I had mottled skin, fever, my whole body was shaking for 10 days, four of which were in ICU. It was my gall bladder that was trying to kill me! That was the cause so I had that removed and got to have a two week ‘holiday’ at home to heal and was back for that May, June and July for more treatment.”

Her final treatment was in August, 2022, after which Megan returned to her job as a multi-media manager for a hotel and pub in Limerick in what was a huge step forward.

Another setback was to come.

“At that stage, I was on a maintenance stage of treatment with a lumbar puncture every three months. The one taken in January, 2023, showed leukaemia cells. Just when I had gotten used to my freedom!”

More treatment was required.

“I was put on immunotherapy which involved wearing what looked like a bum bag which contained a pouch with my medication, feeding into my arm. I’d go down to Limerick on Sunday, come back on Tuesday to have the bag changed, return to Limerick on Wednesday morning and back to Cork on Friday. That continued throughout February and March.”

Megan also needed a bone marrow transplant that May, which required a six-week hospital stay in isolation and a six-week stay in the capital afterwards.

“I had to stay within 30 minutes of the hospital for six weeks and, through the Bone Marrow for Leukaemia Trust, we were lucky to get an apartment,” she said. “I had a biopsy 100 days after the transplant and it showed I was 98% my donor. I don’t know who they are to this day but I’m very grateful to them.”

Her family, mum Sandra, dad Finbarr, older sister Amy and younger brother Ólan were a great .

Throughout it all, her precious grandmother was being cared for in a nursing home, and Megan was unable to visit.

She ed away last March, and on the approach to her first anniversary, Megan takes strength from her memory as they were very close.

Having been through her cancer journey, which saw her lose her hair three times, her advice is this: “Make sure you get yearly blood tests, that’s important. So is knowing the signs of sepsis, and to give blood – it could save your life. I was saved by a single bag of blood on more than one occasion. And for anyone who wants to know more about giving bone marrow, see giveblood.ie.”.

Megan now volunteers with the Irish Cancer Society (ICS) to help others who are in her situation and to share her skill set with the organisation.

“I don’t work in Limerick anymore and am currently looking for a new position, so with a bit of time on my hands I volunteer with the ICS, helping with their social media and website, and I’m also involved in their fundraiser ‘Relay for Life’ in Midleton which last year raised over €60,000.”

Luckily, she feels as well as she did prior to her diagnosis in 2021, but her mindset has changed.

“I see people going at a million miles an hour in life trying to reach milestones and I feel we all need to calm ourselves a bit and listen to our bodies. It will tell you very quickly how you’re really doing, like in my case – I was grand until suddenly I wasn’t. I am more careful with my health now and am very grateful to be feeling good. It’s not something I take for granted. It sounds cheesy but I’m happy to take life day-by-day.”

The Irish Cancer Society’s Daffodil Day takes place on Friday, March 28.

This Daffodil Day, the Irish Cancer Society are urging the public to Go All in Against Cancer.

Visit cancer.ie to donate or get involved.