Kindly Dublin footballers make amazing gesture to brave little Molly
Meet five-year-old Molly McNally, from Balbriggan in Dublin.
On October 22 last year Molly was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer known as Neuroblastoma.
Having been suffering bouts of constipation after repeated treks to the GP and three separate trips to the hospital, an abdominal ultrasound and a CT scan finally revealed the diagnosis that no parent wants to hear.
Molly’s mother Emma powerfully sums up her feelings after hearing the news on the family’s trust website: “How do you react when you are told your child has cancer? You don't, you go into shock.”
It was revealed subsequently that little Molly was in stage four of Neuroblastoma, which is a stage her father Gerry told breakingnews.ie only four children in the country are in.
The Irish Cancer Society’s information page describes Neuroblastoma as a cancer of special nerve cells called neural crest cells. These cells are part of your nervous system and Neuroblastoma can occur anywhere in the body.
According to her father, Molly had a bit of a rough start, especially as she had to travel between the children's hospital in Crumlin for chemotherapy and Drogheda hospital for an astounding 19 blood transfusions.
“There was often times where we would have to leave Drogheda, after Molly ran a temperature or was a little sick, and head straight back to Crumlin for chemo,” said Gerry.
Before beginning her chemo tests revealed Molly had an unbelievable 82 tumour hot points on her skeleton, with the main tumour in her stomach.
After eight rounds of chemo doctors found the main tumour in her stomach had shrunk and that they had reduced the tumour hot points to just six - two in Molly’s skull, two in each upper arm and a final two in her upper legs.
A further four rounds of chemo were ordered and the family then got the news that Molly’s bone morrow was clear, an important step along the road to remission.
On Friday June 6 Molly again travelled to Crumlin for surgery to remove the main tumour from her stomach. The brave little one again astounded doctors with not only her fantastic sunny outlook, but her miraculously quick recovery.
After having a successful operation, the healing time for a child Molly’s age is expected to be around 7-10 days.
Gerry tells us that “on Monday June 9, three days later, the doctor came looking for Molly in the ward and couldn’t find her. While asking where she was, he turned around and there she was driving up the hall in a tractor from the playroom in the hospital”
“He then said, ‘Right if she has a good night she can go home tomorrow.’”
Molly left hospital on June 10, which was important as it coincided with her school sports day at Balscadden National School.
The school, under principal Christopher White, had organised a fundraiser in aid of theMolly McNally Miracle Trust on that day and never expected Molly to show up.
The family themselves were stunned, however. when Molly’s teacher Ms McGonigle made an unexpected gesture. So struck was Ms McGonigle by her student’s situation she decided the night before to shave off all her hair.
“No one asked her to do it,” said Gerry.
“She decided it would be a powerful message for a woman with long hair to send out. The fundraiser made over €20,000 in the end.”
Molly absolutely loves the Dublin football team and if she is feeling up to it she regularly attends games with her family, including older siblings Stephanie, Jill and James.
Yesterday, Molly was in the lower Cusack Stand of Croke Park as Dublin claimed their fourth Leinster crown in-a-row after a 3-20 to 1-10 win over Meath.
As the Boys in Blue paraded the Delaney Cup around the field Molly spotted one of her favourite players Paul Flynn and out of pure chance Flynn also saw her and immediately beckoned his teammates over to her telling them “quick, it’s Molly!”
It is a relationship that has blossomed over the last four months after Gerry’s father-in-law - who lives close to Dublin Gaelic Football manager Jim Gavin - made Gavin aware of Molly’s story.
In April, Dublin players Flynn, Bernard Brogan and Ger Brennan came to visit Molly in hospital and brightened up what her father described as a “bad day” for his brave daughter. She even got a kiss on the cheek from talisman Brogan and told daddy she was “never going to wash that side of her face again.”
Then, in June, Gerry took an expected call from manager Gavin inviting Molly to be ‘Guest of Honour’ at Dublin’s Leinster semi-final win over Wexford following a campaign by Dublin GAA supporters group the Hill 16 army.
She was given a day of a lifetime, after the contest she was brought into the dressing room by Dublin GAA PRO Fiona Waters where Gerry said the players made a “big fuss of her.” Molly was then whisked onto the team bus and brought back to the Gibson Hotel as the team stay there and enjoyed dinner with players along with loads of photo opportunities with the entire squad.
Gerry for his part couldn’t believe the players spotted her again yesterday and was blown away by their kindness.
“It’s a really brilliant gesture from them. The second Paul Flynn saw her and called the players they were straight over!
“They let her hold the cup and she was telling me ‘Daddy, I won the cup’. I couldn’t thank them enough,” said the doting father.
The five-year-old was even brought onto the hallowed turf of Croker to take some once-in-a-lifetime snaps.
The pictures have gone viral today appearing on several media sites with Gerry hopeful that they will create more awareness of Neuroblastoma as a whole. He stated that if anyone is interested in learning more they can check out the Facebook page dedicated to Molly and her condition.
“She has no fear of the hospital now and gets that she has to go for treatment. It is like a sleepover for her now.
“I couldn’t speak highly enough of Crumlin and Drogheda hospitals, who bend over backwards for us. There is one particular nurse in Drogheda called Conny and you’d swear Molly was her own daughter.
“Her mother has been fantastic at home with her treatments, she does everything for Molly. I’m useless really,” said Gerry. (We 100% certain you are not useless Gerry!)
There is a long road ahead yet for Molly as she is due start a course of trail table chemotherapy in August and following the hopeful success of that, she will travel to London for specialised radiation therapy - which involves her being in a lead based room for an entire week.
Molly does everything with a smile and the story of her fight could inspire a nation.
We think Molly and her family might just settle for the Dubs winning the All-Ireland again in September again though!
* If you have been affected by this story you can donate to the Molly McNally Miracle Trust here, to Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin here and the Irish Cancer Society here.
Hat tips: The Molly McNally Miracle Trust, Sportsfile and Molly McNally’s father Gerry McNally.
