Woman who spent time in UHL A&E with tragic Aoife Johnston hopes Government will address overcrowding

A woman who says she was waiting in University Hospital Limerick's A&E for four days on a trolley was there when Aoife Johnston's mother begged for her to be seen.

Janine Creamer, 43, presented to the hospital's emergency department on December 18, 2022. She was experiencing multiple seizures after being diagnosed with a rare brain injury two years previous.

Aoife Johnston died on December 19, aged 16, two days after she was admitted to the A&E. She suffered from meningitis-related sepsis and was left for more than 16 hours without antibiotics. An investigation into her death found that it was "almost certainly avoidable".

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Ms Creamer said she remembers the young girl well, and described the emergency department as being completely overwhelmed. She told the Irish Mirror: "I saw so much in there. You couldn't even walk through (the A&E), it was absolutely shocking.

"It was the time Aoife Johnston was in hospital, I remember her mam, she was begging and pleading for her to be seen, I was on the trolley right in front of the nurses' station, she was begging and pleading."

The mother-of-two has been battling a life-changing brain injury since 2020. She says she and her family struggled the most when she suffered from seizures in 2022 and was admitted to UHL for 20 weeks.

Janine continued: "The second time I was in the A&E for four nights on a trolley. The crowding, the care in there… I get upset even thinking about it. It was disgusting.

"The care, the cleanliness, my basic care and needs were not met. The stress of that was absolutely horrible, it really affected me and my family."

The Limerick woman hopes that the new government will tackle the county's overwhelmed health service as a priority, and provide more funding for those suffering with brain injuries.

In October 2020, Janine's life changed forever when she was at home with her daughter making lunch and suddenly had a horrific pain in her head and her arm went numb.

She called her mother, who luckily only lived five minutes away, but the next thing Janine remembers is waking up in hospital.

The mother-of-two was airlifted to Cork University Hospital (CUH), where she underwent a life-saving six-hour operation.

Doctors discovered she had an arteriovenous brain bleed. This type of bleed is extremely rare and happens when the nerves get tangled in the brain when a baby is about 8-10 weeks old in the womb.

Janine, who was 39 when the bleeding happened, said she had been living with "a ticking time bomb" in her head that she never knew about until it was almost too late.

She said: "It just happened, I didn’t know about it. The bleed just happened. The wires in my brain got tangled at birth.

"Thank God I was able to call my mam because she was just five minutes away. She came over very quickly. When she came I was passed out. It was very, very scary."

After the operation, Janine spent six months in CUH and a further three months in the National Rehabilitation Hospital.

She initially lost control of her right arm and leg and had to use a wheelchair. Now, she only uses a wheelchair for long journeys but still struggles with her speech.

Despite her extremely positive attitude, the Limerick woman said some days are difficult as she misses the things she took for granted before the accident.

Janine continued: "Everything in my life has changed, everything and more has changed. My speech is affected, my brain knows what to say but the words might not come out correctly. I'm not able to drive, I’m not able to have a shower on my own, I’m not able to work.

"Everyday life [is different] - even the small things that people would take for granted. I had my own business as a beautician, doing eyebrows and eyelashes, but with my right side, I'm not able to do that anymore.

"My mental health is also affected, I am very truthful about that."

While Janine has struggled since the incident in 2020, the mother said she is getting better every day thanks to the help of Acquired Brain Injury (ABI).

The organisation called on the new Government to fight for the lives of brain injury survivors by raising awareness and advocating to prioritise funding for long-term rehabilitation services.

ABI chief executive Karen Foley said: "52 people in this country suffer a brain injury every day. In an instant, their lives, and the lives of their families are changed forever.

"Anyone who has survived that trauma should be able to get the support they need to rebuild their lives, no matter where they live. But years of underinvestment in community rehabilitation services and a failure to fully implement national policy have left thousands of survivors and families feeling lost and abandoned on their rehabilitation journey."

UHL has been contacted for comment.

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