First Official Interview Since…

Première Interview Officielle depuis…

Prince Cathal has been feeling increasingly better these last few days and decided yesterday, to statisfy all his fans, to allow the international press into his hospital room for the first photos since his Big Op.

Prince Cathal se sent de mieux en mieux ces derniers jours et a décidé hier, pour satisfaire tous ses fans, d’autoriser la presse internationale dans sa chambre d’hôpital pour les premières photos depuis sa Grande Opération.

The prince, sitting up in bed
Le prince, assis dans son lit

With Mr Strong (thank you Noah). But who is who?
Avec Monsieur Fort. Mais qui est qui?

Yes, he is bruised, even on his hand!
Oui, il a des bleus, même sur la main !

So Prince, how would you describe your experience?

Donc Prince, pouvez-vous nous décrire votre expérience?

“Mammy, I need a hug!”
« Maman, J’ai besoin d’un câlin !”

“That’s better”
« C’est mieux »

Anything else you want to tell your fans?
Voulez-vous dire autre chose à vos fans?

“Enough for today, I am tired…”
« Assez pour aujourd’hui, je suis fatigué… »

Smiles were given to this journalist only once the camera was turned off. Typical Celeb behaviour!
Les sourires ne furent offerts à cette journaliste qu’une fois l’appareil éteint. C’est bien l’attitude d’une célébrité !

PS – Following my last post, I did not see any magic wand appearing. However Lisa-Hammie’s Jeannie-flicking-of-the-ponytail-with-*blink*, Jazzy’s twitching-her-nose-while-clicking-her-red-shoe-heels-3-times, and all the other comments seems to have helped, as you can see. These comments were like virtual hugs. Thank you all ;-)

In and Out

Poor little Cathal has been having it rough. It’s not surprising after the kind of surgery he has had. He has been pricked, poked, jabbed, cut. Cannulas, drains, and leads have been inserted. He has been given morphine, pain killers, antibiotics, drugs for speeding this up and drugs for slowing that down, more drugs for assisting this and other drugs for preventing that. And I am not even mentioning the surgery itself!

Apart from the surgery scar – which looks quite neat and is healing nicely – he is full of marks of all shapes and sizes, not to mention bruises.

The poor little thing needed another short visit to theatre yesterday, a quick In and Out job, to sort out a side issue. He was back in his room and fully awake within 2 hours. But it will be several days before we know if this is working and get confirmation that his recovery is definitely on the right road.

No wonder he is Mr Grumpy most of the time! An adult would not put up with this kind of treatment. Life can be tough, and this barely one year old has had more than his fair share.

Having said this, since the weekend, he has been sitting up for increasing periods of time and has again started taking an interest in toys around him. Not only his own, but toys belonging to the ward as well. Seeing him repeatedly knocking down a stack of cubes made me feel very good.

I am not the most patient person (and believe me, this is a big understatement!). At this stage, I feel that Cathal and his parents have gone through too much, enough is enough, I want him all recovered right now, so that they can all go home and get on with life.

If only this were possible! Has any one got a magic wand to lend me?


Yet I must remember that the magic has already happened: his little ticker is ticking very well.

And THAT is the main thing...

To the Mammies

Because of the day that is in it, I want to salute the Mammies.

Being a Mammy is not an easy task, at the best of times. I will not go so low as to expand in the vein of the sickly sugary-coated way the cards being given this Sunday are written. I simply want to acknowledge that, though the rewards, and the joys, and the love received back, are beyond the comprehension of those who are not Mammies themselves, being a Mammy can be tough.

Even tougher for the Special Mammies. I have had a little glimpse of this through Cathal’s Mammy for the last year. And I take my hat off to her!

Even tougher if your little one has to go to hospital for surgery. And when it’s serious surgery as Cathal’s, Oh My God! How can a Mammy get through this?

So I salute all Mammies, all Special Mammies, and all those Mammies that have sat by their child’s hospital bedside. I hope you all have a nice Mother’s Day – and if you are a Mammy reading this outside of Ireland or the UK, this is for you too, as you all deserve recognition... ;-)

As for the Dads, they will have to wait their turn, won’t they?

Update on Cathal: his recovery is a question of “nice and slow”. He is taking his time through it, but considering what he has gone through, he is well entitled to this. I cannot imagine how sore he must be, and just wish I could do something for him... We are so powerless, aren’t we?

Oh Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!

Forget about toying with the idea of doing the Fat Monica Dance… We are way passed this stage!

Cathal was transferred out of ICU this evening. He is nicely tucked away in his little room in St Theresa’s Ward in Crumlin Hospital, all warm and comfy (well, kind of, the poor little thing) with his Mammy and the Dad by his side.

I was able to see him, talk to him, touch him and kiss him. He gave me a glimmer of a smile, just to prove how brave he is.

So now we can all do the dance.


Oh Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!

Oh Yeah!

Seven days after his open heart surgery, Brave Little Prince Cathal is giving us an excuse to celebrate. Oh Yeah!


The pacemaker has been switched off all day, his little heart is doing ALL the work ALL by itself. Oh Yeah!


The Ventilator has been completely switched off this afternoon and the tracheal tube removed. Oh Yeah!


Cathal is still all doped out – he will need some detox when this is all over, the poor thing! – but he is awake enough to look at his Mammy and the Dad, to try to smile at them, and, though his voice is not in working order yet, to try to give out. Oh Yeah!


So today has been a good day, with lots of progress.


There is a funny little music in my head this evening, and my mind is toying with a little dance that looks like this…




But where are my celebratory doughnuts???