Life is for living

ON HER BIKE Caroline Heffernan will take part in the Barcelona Ironman triathlon this weekend. Pic: Ray Ryan

Caroline Heffernan is hoping to be the first Irish person living with CF to compete in an Ironman

Anton McNulty

THIS Sunday, Tuam woman Caroline Heffernan plans to complete the gruelling Barcelona Ironman race, an event which consists of a 3.8km swim, a 180km cycle and a 42.2km run.
The 48-year-old mother of two is jumping in at the deep end having never competed in anything like this before. Just to shame us even more, she also suffers from Cystic Fibrosis and two years ago she could barely walk up the stairs in her home.
“My sister [Celia] participated twice [in the Barcelona Ironman] and I thought she was an absolute lunatic to be doing something like this. But that was when I couldn’t breath properly due my illness,” she told The Mayo News ahead of the race, which she is using to raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis Ireland.
Just a few years ago, competing in Ironman competitions was a mere pipe dream as Caroline struggled heavily due to her breathing. Up until 2016, she thought she might need a transplant. It got to a stage she and her husband Franny future-proofed the family home in case her condition got worse.
But, thankfully for Caroline, her life improved in late 2016 when she was put on a clinical trial for the groundbreaking therapy Kalydeco, which treats the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis.
There was an instant improvement in Caroline’s condition but at the time the trial was only for a year and there was no guarantee she would be on it permanently. It was then that she decided to get fit.
“I didn’t know if I’d have the drug after that and that was when I decided to get as fit as I can. It was make hay while the sun shines.”

Tri-Lakes Triathlon Club
Caroline was always a swimmer when young and she started to train with the Tri-Lakes Triathlon Club in Tuam and found the more she exercised, her lung function increased dramatically.
“The new Kalydeco drug gave me a second spurt of life. I went from doing four hours of treatment to control my CF to about half an hour with the new drug. I ended up with a lot of time on my hands. I suppose I put the time I had to spare into the exercise and the fitter I got, the fitter I felt, and it made sense to continue to do it and have the cherry on the cake with the Ironman at the end of it.
“I fought with myself for a little while [about doing the Ironman] but my thinking was if I was able to take on the training, no matter what happens on October 7, I would be the fittest I’d ever be. It was going to be ‘win win’ situation anyway,” she explained.
Everything has not gone according to plan however, and having been healthy all year, she recently came down with a chest infection. Speaking to Caroline, you can hear the infection in her voice  - but she is still determined to complete the Ironman.
“I picked up something and it went straight to my chest. Look it, we’ll survive. I always knew I could have set backs, but I bounce back quicker because of the exercise. I’m 100 percent convinced I’ll get through this sickness before Barcelona.”
Caroline works for Cystic Fibrosis Ireland as a Patient Advocate and part of her work involves helping parents of newly diagnosed children deal with the shocking news they have been told.
Caroline was diagnosed with CF at the age of 13 - which is a relatively late age – and at the time her parents were told she may not live past her 20th birthday. She says the fact she is now 48 helps parents realise that you can live a long life with the condition.
“You can nearly feel the stress coming from them. They are told there is a life expectancy on their child but when they talk to me, a woman of 48, who was diagnosed in the 70s, they can see there is hope. It does give a lot of hope and for me that is brilliant.”

Key fundraiser
Caroline travels to Mayo University Hospital every six weeks for her treatment in the new €1.4m Cystic Fibrosis Unit and was one of the key players in raising the €850,000 which was fundraised locally. She said the unit makes treatment for her and others a lot more accessible and they are very lucky to have access to it.
While huge strides have been made on the treatment of CF, Caroline says the recent documentary on CF sufferer and campaigner, Orla Tinsley, shows the importance of organ donation. She also knows what it is like to lose friends who have died as a result of CF.
“I learned very early the hardships and devastation CF can bring. But I turned it into a positive. Many of my friends who passed away in those teenage years actually showed me that they put everything into their life. I couldn’t let them down by not doing the exact same. I’d twist the negative of losing them into the positive as best I can.
“You are a little bit resilient when you are young and think nothing will happen to you. But as you get a little older you definitely do [think about death] and when I got sick in 2002 and again in 2015 and 2016, you are thinking is this the slippery slope. You do, but you also realise I am here and I have two wonderful kids and a husband and life is for living.”
Her two children Jamie and Anna, along with her mother and sister, will be cheering her on in Barcelona, along with eleven other members of Tri-Lakes Triathlon Club in Tuam, who she trains with. While she admits she currently feels like ‘crap’, Caroline says she is determined to give Barcelona her best shot.
“I am much more relaxed about it and I’m going to do it and enjoy it, if that actually makes sense. You should never not attempt something because you think you won’t succeed. Even if the lights go out, I have loads of friends there who can put their torches on me again.”

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If you would like to help Caroline and donate to Cystic Fibrosis Ireland click on the link https://give.everydayhero.com/ie/ironman-barcelona-1.