'We only live once and through my illness journey I see life through new eyes'

Transition year student who beat the odds to overcome serious childhood illness turning her experience to help fellow teens struggling with their mental health

An Ashbourne teenager who overcame a serious illness as a child says she created a podcast focusing on mental health to show young people you can turn challenges in life into positive outcomes.

17-year-old transition year Amy Spratt joined forces with Project One Sky, an organisation that provides well being education to teenagers to start a wellbeing podcast interviewing mental health advocates.

Some of the people she spoke to include, former Clare hurler. Tony Griffin, businesswoman Grace Vella and Dublin GAA star Shane Carthy.

Amy herself beat the odds, when she overcame a rare cancer diagnosis as a young child spurring her on to "give everything a shot."

"My aim in TY was to find my skillset and my interests and I got the opportunity to create my own podcast," she said. I love listening to podcasts and listening to people's stories and finding out how they got where they are now.

"I signed myself up for a journalism course and when I discussed the possibility of a podcast with Colm Fallon from Project One Sky I jumped at the idea and linked it with the journalism course.

"The three standout interviews that went on Youtube were Tony Griffin, a former Clare hurler who wrote a book called ‘Teenager's Book for Life’. It basically touches on all aspects of teenagers lives and what we go through.

"Next was Grace Vella, she is an English businesswoman who set up a business called Miss Kick, it's a clothes brand but it has a deeper meaning as Grace herself was a footballer and she was wearing all of the boy's gear. Seeing the lads play football, they were the only ones she could look up to so she decided there was a gap in the market there for female footballers and through that brand promotes female football. I play football myself so she's defintely one of my role models.

"The last one that was released on World Mental Health day was Shane Carty and he wrote a book called ‘Dark Blue’ which touches on his journey through mental health. He came into my school and I thought it would be a great opportunity to get him on my podcast. Listening to his story, it was so raw and emotional that I just wanted to talk to him. He started his journey when he realised he had poor mental health.

"I thought it was a good opportunity to start that conversation, if you have any issues or worries just talk to people."

Amy was diagnosed with Wilms tumour, a rare kidney cancer that primarily affects children when she was just six-years-old.

After spending more than a year in hospital undergoing numerous gruelling rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy along with an operation to remove the tumour and kidney in 2011 Amy thankfully made a full recovery.

Enduring so much at such a young age has made her realise the value of life as she explains:

"I give everything a go nowadays. The saying is so cliche but we only live once and through my illness journey I see life through new eyes. It's about giving everything a go, you may not be good at some things and might be brilliant at others but if you don't give it a go, you'll never know."