“You’re always holding on to this unbelievable bit of hope.”
Dublin legend and GAA great Michael Darragh MacAuley stunned the RTE studio with an incredibly powerful interview on the Late Late Show with Patrick Kielty.
The former midfield wrecking ball was a warrior on the pitch when representing the Dubs, but we learned that he has been a warrior off the pitch as well, as he delved into some horrific experiences that he and his family have had to go through.
The GAA star opened up on about his family’s health battle and his sister Margaret’s lung transplant. His father had passed away due to lung fibrosis, with his sister and brother also dealing with the condition.
Speaking on The Late Late Show, Michael Darragh said: “She has lung fibrosis, which is pretty rampant throughout my family. We know all about it now, because my dad had it and he went through the whole transplant process.
“Unfortunately, he got called for a transplant three times. He wasn’t lucky enough to get it on those occasions.”
He added: “Margaret has had a really tough journey since I saw you last. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster.
“Luckily, we have Margaret here today, which is fantastic.”
Michael Darragh continued: “It is tough. Some of the nurses that were treating my dad 10 years ago were the same nurses that were there again.
“It’s hard, especially the hope and the power of a transplant is unbelievable. It’s not like some other disease where it’s slowly downhill. It’s downhill with the possibility of this amazing uphill, which we just didn’t get for my dad.
“You’re always holding on to this unbelievable bit of hope,” he said. “There’s no cure for this. Medicines can slightly slow it down, but the only way out of this is a transplant for a significant way of life.”
The GAA star was sitting at the gym on the bench press when he learned that his sister was getting a lung transplant.
“I got the phone call. I was on alert, so I had the phone on me,” he shared. “I just burst into tears. I didn’t know that I needed to do that, but it had been weighing on us so heavily for the last while.”
