‘Maya is the light at the end of a very dark tunnel’

When Andrew Whittaker moved from his native South Africa to carve out a new life in Meath in 2018 it would be expected he would have some adjusting to do. After all he was switching from one end of the world to the other. 
Nothing, however, could have prepared him for the turbulence, the crushing disruption to his physical and mental well-being he would have to endure as he settled into his new way of life. In just about every respect his own personal world was turned upside down; inside out.

The South African had travelled to Ireland to take up a full-time coaching role with Ashbourne RFC. He was acclimatising himself to the ways of the Irish and a new society, settling into his  surroundings - until reality intervened with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer brought forcefully down on a glass table. 
"My wife Chelsea and I had moved to Ireland. We got here in August 2018. About two months later I felt something wasn't right with one of my testicles. I said I think I need to see a GP so I went to the Ashbourne family practice. He went: 'Listen I'm sending you for an ultra sound. I went for the ultra sound and the person there was quite nice. Sometimes you have to wait a few days to get the results back. 
"I had just walked out to the parking lot when I got a call from my GP. He said please go straight to the Mater Hospital, there's a surgeon there, a specialist who can help, that was Dr McCarthy. He literally said to me I know exactly what is wrong. He put a strap on my wrist and says you are going in for surgery." 

Andrew was diagnosed with testicular cancer - and there was no time to wait; he would need to have an operation ASAP. The 32-year-old could have thought of a million and one better ways to start his new life in the Emerald Isle. 
"I saw the doctor on a Monday, had my scan and went in for surgery on Tuesday morning, it all happened in less than 24 hours. It was a tough time for me because obviously with that sort of response I hadn't had time to adapt or really get to grips with what was happening."

CAPE TOWN 
Andrew Whittaker spent his early years on their grandfather's small farm outside Johannesburg, near the town of Brits. In some ways it was an idyllic upbringing for him and his brothers - Justin and Stanley. Lovely countryside, beautiful scenery, super weather. 
Yet there were problems, big economic problems in the country that seemed to get worse and worse. The Whittaker family moved to Cape Town. "That's pretty much where I grew up," says Andrew before going on to outline how their father worked in the navy and later the military. 
As the economy worsened the challenges for the Whittakers grew in the big city. "Me and my brothers we didn't come from a well-off family, it was a good life but my grandfather was not a big producer, he just made sure we were all fed, that we made ends-meet. 
"Moving to Cape Town was a big move for us because my mum didn't have a job, my dad moved from the navy to the military so we were taken care of but we didn't always have the food we needed. It's a dreadful memory for us but we at times stood in line at the Salvation Army to be handed a box with lentil soup and bread. It was a tough time for us, making that move from outside Johannesburg from the farm to Cape Town was a very tough move."
Experiences like waiting in line for food handouts has clearly generated in Andrew a fierce, irrepressible desire to succeed in whatever he chooses to take on. He used his time at school well fired up to do what he could. He worked hard for his Metrics (equivalent of the Leaving Cert). 

Andrew Maya and Chelsea as home in Ashbourne. PHOTO: SEAMUS FARRELLY

"In my last year at secondary school my parents couldn't afford to pay school fees - in South Africa even in public schools fees needed to be paid - so I went and found a part-time job to make sure I could finish. I played rugby as well and won a sponsorship to study a correspondence course in human movement science and personal training."  
He was motivated to become as he says himself "a better person." He also played and coached in the very successful False Bay Rugby Club based in Cape Town. All the time learning. 
In time he set up his own business as a personal trainer and ran it for a number of years, making his way in the world but South Africa was increasingly a more difficult place to carve out a career; a more dangerous place.
Andrew and Chelsea decided the time was right to open another chapter in their lives. They decided to move to Ireland encouraged by the fact that Andrew's brother Justin was already here, playing rugby for a Navan team that also included another barnstorming South African Riaan van der Vyer, a long-time close friend of the Whittakers.  
"Justin was already here for about four years and we were in contact with him and he was saying how amazing Ireland is and how he is loving Ireland at the moment, he was enjoying his rugby, there was a chance in Ireland."
Andrew, who is an experienced, qualified rugby coach, applied to a number of Irish clubs as a player/coach. Naas and Ashbourne RFC were among those to get back to him. He accepted the position of working as a coach with Ashbourne. Then Justin transferred from Navan to Ashbourne. The brothers were back together again playing on the same team - just as they did when they were youngsters. Life felt good. 
Then, right out of left field, the shocking news was revealed. Andrew had cancer.

KELLS 
Because he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, the  medics indicated to Andrew and Chelsea (who is studying for a PhD in education in Trinity College) they may not be able to have any children. They talked of taking alternative routes and coming to terms with that harsh reality. 
"The doctor explained that there were little calcium spots on the testicles and that would indicate it would be difficult for us to have children. We obviously had that fear anyway with having one testicle removed, we were thinking of freezing sperm cells, we were thinking about what we were going to do if we couldn't have children, that was a process for us as well.
"When the doctor told us that my wife and I we may not have children we said we'd try anyway. After three, four months we got to the point where we had decided life has to go on. Chelsea had to make a decision whether about her PhD, I had to focus on my coaching. We said we would maybe put the issue of a baby on hold." 

Andrew, Chelsea and Baby Maya.

When they least expected it Andrew and Chelsea - who lived in Ratoath for a time before settling in Kells - received marvellous, starling news. Chelsea was pregnant and last December she gave birth to a baby girl - Maya. 
"Having a child is obviously a tough ask, it's not easy being a parent but I think having Maya has speeded up my recovery. I don't have time now to feel sorry for myself. I need to take care of that little human being now, she has been an absolute blessing, one of the best things that ever happened to me. All I have to do is start talking to her and she puts a smile on my face. She is the light at the end of every dark tunnel, no matter what that tunnel is." 
When he first moved from South Africa to Ireland, Andrew Whittaker could never have imagined what life would have in store for him. In the past 18 months of so he has experienced some dark days - but he's also experienced some unforgettable, happy moments as well. Moments he wouldn't want to change for the world.