'Life is too short to be in a rush' says brave Mike who is battling MND
When Athlone man Mike Harte woke up one morning in December 2019 with a cramp in his right leg he thought nothing of it.
This was the beginning of a nightmare round of medical appointments and investigations for the 64-year-old which culminated in him receiving the devastating diagnosis of Motor Neurone Disease (MND) last October.
Having lost his sister to the disease four years earlier within six months of her diagnosis, Mike Harte says he went into “complete shock” when his consultant in Beaumont Hospital mentioned MND.
Motor Neurone Disease is a rare, rapid and fatal disease affecting the nerve cells which control voluntary muscles in the body. Life expectancy is two to three years and there is no known cure, although Mike is currently on a clinical trial aimed at slowing down the progression of the disease.
Mike ‘s wife, Maeve O’Healy Harte, is a well-known hairdresser who has been involved in all aspects of the industry for over 45 years, so when her friends in the industry heard about the plight which had befallen her family they decided to set up a Go Fund Me page earlier this month which has already raised over €17,500 of the €30,000 target set.
Maeve explains how the fundraising initiative came about. “Myself and Mike met hairdressers Anthony Kilcoyne from Slight and Sean Taaffe from Kerry many years ago when we were involved with Team Ireland Hairdressing and when they heard about Mike they decided to set up a fundraising initiative, along with a group of hairdressers, to support us on our journey.”
Maeve says herself and Mike, who live in The Priory in Athlone, have been “very humbled” with all the support they have received. “We asked them to support the MND fund, but they insisted that they were doing this fundraiser for us, as a payback for all we had done for the hairdressing industry as a whole in the areas of education and training, managing the Irish competition teams for World Championships, career advice, our work on hairdressing apprenticeships, recommendations and advice, we knew so many people and were always at the end of the phone or there in person to help out,” points out Maeve.
Despite having his own job, Mike Harte says he was always involved “in the background” in the work undertaken by Maeve in the hairdressing industry and the couple attended many events, shows and seminars together. “We always did our very best for people in the industry to support and encourage them,” says Maeve, who adds that the Irish hair industry is “just the best industry to be involved with.”
Maeve is now a full-time carer for Mike, who is known as “Jock” to his many friends. He acquired the nickname due to the fact that he was born in Scotland and spent the first 16 years of his life there before he moved with his family to Sligo, where he met Maeve 41 years ago!
The couple now regard Athlone as their home having lived here for over 30 years and they say they have received “huge support” from the local community, particularly over the past year. Asked if they have “a bucket list” of things they would like to do, Mike says they just take “one day at a time…life is too short to be in a rush.”
Although their day to day lives have changed in so many ways since last October, Mike and Maeve are grateful for the small things. “Every day has its own challenges,” admits Mike “but I am blessed that I can still drive as I have an automatic car” and Maeve still tries to make time to work as a volunteer for Athlone Community Radio where she had been working for three years before becoming a full-time carer to her husband. “She loves the environment and the team there,” says Mike.
The Go Fund Me Page which has been set up by Mike and Maeve’s friends in the hairdressing industry is designed to make things more comfortable for them as Mike’s Motor Neurone Disease progresses.
However, Maeve O’Healy Harte points out that if people do not wish to donate directly to this fund they can donate to the Clinical Trial into MND which is currently being undertaken by researchers from Trinity College at the Clinical Research Facility in St. James Hospital in Dublin.
“I have been put on medication to slow down the deterioration process, and am now on a Clinical Trial which may help me, and indeed others in the future, and I want to make people aware of the disease and of the importance of trying to find a cure for it,” says Mike Harte.
The GoFundMe page can be accessed here