Nessa became very unwell on day of her final Leaving Cert exam on the morning of the 19th of the June 2025. She bravely sat that exam and was delighted with her results in August. This episode turned out to be the start of a summer of ill health for Nessa.
She experienced migraine-like symptoms which got progressively worse. Nonetheless, she was determined to live life as normal and went on the LC holiday, attended her debs and started her dream course in UCD, Music, which has always been a passion of hers.
She had completed four weeks in college when on the 7th of October, an MRI revealed a tumour close to her brain stem. She had surgery in Beaumont on the 10th of October, followed by a second operation on the 24th of October – her 19th birthday. Biopsy results indicated that the tumour was a fast growing grade 4 malignancy that would require aggressive treatment.
Nessa was referred to Essen, Germany for proton beam therapy which took place Dec 2025-Jan 2026. Jayne and John Glynn kindly offered to fund our expenses for Nessa’s treatment abroad. We cannot thank them enough for the support they gave us during the time we spent in Germany.
They organised flights, transfers, accommodation and expenses, allowing us to focus all our energy on Nessa’s treatment.
Nessa is currently undergoing chemotherapy in Beaumont and is recovering from emergency brain surgery which took place on the 9th March. We are in awe of her bravery and determination and we couldn’t be prouder of our strong, beautiful daughter.
From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to thank The Gavin Glynn Foundation and our families and friends for the incredible support and their generous donations.
From the MacCarthy-Morrogh Family