LITTLE Noah Quish (6) from Monaleen has had to endure a lot in his short life so far.
Born with severe health difficulties, he has to be fed through a tube, is non-verbal, has had heart surgery, repeated spinal surgery, and needs ongoing treatment for numerous issues.
In the last month Noah, has been in Temple Street hospital where he has undergone four brain surgeries and has contracted meningitis.
His parents, Una and John, have been at his bedside the whole time.
“He’s doing okay, but it’s been a very rough time for him,” Una told the Limerick Post.
“He’s always been so lively but he can’t move around or walk right now for more than a few seconds. He’s in a lot of pain. He will have a shunt put in place place shortly, he just needs a bit more time to recover .”
September 9 was to be a milestone date for Noah, as that was when he was to have the first of many spinal surgeries to treat his scoliosis.
“That won’t be happening now. His little body has been through so much already. The shunt will be his fifth brain surgery and he needs time to recover before facing anything else,” said Una.
Una, who was named Limerick Carer of the Year in 2021 for her devotion to Noah, said he is usually a very bubbly boy who is always up to “pure mischief”.
A big fan of An Garda Síochána, Noah was named as a “Little Blue Hero” and presented with a mini-uniform and patrol car by Limerick force members.
And he was hero to the Girls in Blue recently too, when the All-Ireland winning Dublin women’s football team brought the Brendan Martin Cup to Temple Street and Noah.
“He was throwing his arms up, blowing kisses, they were all around his bed. It was a great bit of fun,” said Una.
After a month in the Dublin hospital, Una and John are looking forward to getting Noah home, but they are still facing a lot of challenges ahead.
Because the little boy is not getting public speech and feeding therapy, his parents are paying for sessions privately but are hoping to get him to Boston, in the USA, to a specialist therapist for a six-week intensive course.
A GoFundMe page has been created to support Noah’s bid for Boston and €12,000 of a target €15,000 has been raised so far.
“We’re taking everything a day at a time right now but we are hoping and waiting for the day he will be back to himself, as he was before the surgery and then we can move forward,” said Una.
