‘I don’t know how I had the strength to ask for help but I’m glad that I did’
A BRAVE young man from Trim who almost lost his leg when doctors told his parents there was no other option than to amputate when he was just six weeks-old has gone on to undertake a 250km marathon and has opened up about how overcoming challenges inspired him to help others.
David Farrell (32) was born with Neurofibromatosis, a condition that causes tumors to form on nerve tissues in the body.
At just six weeks old David’s devastated parents were told their baby who was born with his ankle turning inwards would never walk and it would be in his best interests to amputate his leg.
Horrified by the suggestion the loving parents refused to take such drastic action and at the age of two the determined toddler baffled doctors when he took his first steps.
After spending much of his childhood in and out of hospital for various surgeries and being wheelchair bound at a crucial time as a youngster, David struggled with seeing his peers have the freedom that he did not and became suicidal admitting that only for a friend’s intervention “he is not sure he would be here today.”
Now wanting to pay that kindness forward, the brave author has launched a cookbook to raise funds for Pieta House. He said:
“I was born with Neurofibromatosis that causes tumours to grow anywhere in the body at any given time.
“I was born with my left ankle turned inwards to the point I was walking on my ankle. This was in addition to the bones in my left leg being so weak you could snap them in your hand as easy as breaking a pencil.
“For a while I didn’t know any better because I was born that way and I just assumed this was normal but going through secondary school and watching all my friends go off playing sports and I stuck in a wheelchair not able to do anything I became fierce depressed over it to a point where I became suicidal and only for one of my friends getting me the help I needed I probably wouldn’t be here today.
“I wrote a note and left it in my friend’s journal as a way of saying I need help, but I don’t know how to ask for it and luckily enough he understood what I was asking him to do and told my parents about it and as a result of that then I started speaking to people about it. Looking back, I don’t know how I had the strength to ask for that help but I’m glad that I did.
“It was that survivor’s guilt that kind of spurred on a lot of the charity work I did do.”
Saying that “he had no real way of really paying his friend back for what he did,” the passionate baker was spurred on to raise funds for Pieta House.
A Recipe For Success contains recipes from avid baker David, guest submissions from Neven Maguire, Clodagh McKenna and Elaine Murphy of The Winding Stair Restaurant Group.
“The idea came out of working in Dogpatch Labs in Dublin for various companies from 2015 to 2019. During my time in this co-working space, baking quickly became one of my favourite hobbies. Bringing in the cakes I made allowed me to get to know many people within the Dogpatch community. It was their support and encouragement that gave me the push to create this cookbook.”
Having survived one attempt to have his leg amputated, the head strong young man was to face adversity for a second time in his life.
“There was a time where I was told we have done all we can we need to amputate your leg because there is very little more, we can do for you without putting you through experimental operations but luckily for me I was that bit stubborn, and I went for the experimental operation and it worked thankfully.
“The plan was to break the tibia just below the knee and just above the ankle, then remove that entire section of bone. Inserting pins right through the leg just below the knee and attaching them to an external frame they would regrow an entire new bone.
“At the end of the three years, it was a success. My leg is stronger than it ever was but will never be as strong as a normal bone, so I have to wear a brace to protect the leg if I ever fall.
“A few years ago I started doing the Marathon in a month for the Irish Cancer Society as a way of showing that having fought for my legs, I was doing something with them whereas other people with the same condition may not have been as lucky as I was to keep their legs.
“I walked 42km in the first year, 124km in the second, the following year 200km and then in 2019 I walked 250km.
“Three weeks after being told by my orthopaedic surgeon that I didn't need anymore surgeries I went sky diving which was a big way to make up for not being able to play sports for the first 20 years of your life, it was one of the best things I ever did, I’d love to do it again.|