Malachy's Diary 1969 - 2007
Read an account of Malachy, who is deafblind, as told by his mum.
In 1968 I became pregnant with my forth child. I was in contact with German measles and was unaware that this is very dangerous in the first three months. I was very worried and did not have anyone to talk to. I decided to go to talk with my local priest who asked me to come along to mass one morning where he would give me a blessing.
My baby son was born on Friday 24th January 1969. He was such a beautiful baby. He had the blondest hair that I have ever seen. I was so delighted I could not wait for my husband Frank to come in and see him and for the girls to see their new little brother.
We left the hospital after a few days. Once we were home we settled into a routine. He was a very good baby; he slept well and took his bottle. I began to notice his eyes seemed different. There was a white covering over the pupils of his eyes. We went to the eye clinic and were told he had cataracts on both his eyes. We were told that he would have to wait till he was three months before they could start to operate.