Limerick woman makes Lourdes  trip after ‘miracle’ recovery

LOURDES is said to be the home of miraculous healing, but for Marguerite Quinn, 54, it was a miracle that she made it there to begin with.

Ms Quinn, who is from Clarina, has been told she is lucky to be alive, after she suffered a brain aneurysm while at a camogie game in 2016.

She was part of over 500 who traveled to the holy site in France with the Limerick Diocesan.

“It’s a very peaceful and calm place. You come away thinking that something could have happened there,” said Marguerite.

“The overwhelming thing is seeing everybody helping each other. You see all the helpers there, the youths, giving their time freely. It’s not a holiday for them, they work hard. 

“It’s lovely that way, to be together. Anytime Limerick comes together, it is a nice feeling to be a part of it. A few months ago I wouldn’t have thought I would be doing that.”

Ms Quinn, who is the former principal of St Nessan’s National School in Mungret, said that for her the miracle happened before her pilgrimage.

“The miracle happened before I went, this was just to keep me going. It was to give me the strength to accept the new person I am, which is the hardest part. I know I am still here, and that is great, but it just so different. Everyday is in your face, but we will keep going.

“It was the first time I’ve traveled or been on a plane since it happened, so I have to say I enjoyed the experience.”

Ms Quinn had been principal St Nessan’s for a year before the aneurysm struck.

“I was at a camogie match in Mungret with a friend when I began to feel unwell. I had a terrible headache and I asked her to put her hands on my head, one hand on each ear, because it felt as if my head was going to burst. I hadn’t any symptoms leading up to it. It turned out there was an  aneurysm in the middle artery of my brain. It burst and flooded my brain with blood. They didn’t think I would pull through,” said Ms Quinn.

“I didn’t wake up for three weeks, my children love telling me that. I came back and spent eight months in a stroke unit in Limerick and three more months in Dun Laoghaire. I only came home last September,” she added.

Despite the hurdles that life has presented her, Ms Quinn has refused to give up.

“The doctors have told me I wasn’t meant to be here on numerous occasions. There was so much blood that my brain shrunk to half its size too quickly. So I shouldn't have been breathing or doing any of that, so somebody is looking out for me,” said Ms Quinn.

“But you know, look, that's life. Its hard don’t get me wrong. The physical side is bad enough, but the mental side is harder. Trying to deal with a new person even though you want to be the old person is hard, but we will keep going,” she added.