TVScope: Caring for a member of the family suffering from a terminal disease or a chronic progressive condition can be a "living nightmare", noted one of the first contributors to this poignant programme on caring for someone with a terminal illness, writes Marion Kerr.
Give Me Your Hand, a 26-minute documentary, looked at three families who have lived through the experience with the help of the health service but, even more crucially, with the support of their families, friends and neighbours.
This is the second documentary from the Palliative Medicine Department, Milford Hospice, Limerick. The first - Anam - considered Irish traditions around death.
This new production went on to look at how the lay community support and care for those with a terminal illness in their own communities.
The theme for this production was "Meitheal" - an Irish word used to describe a group of neighbours coming together to help in a particular task. But the concept of "Meitheal" is also one that is used by the Department of Palliative Care in Limerick to describe its multidisciplinary approach to caring for the terminally ill.
Máire Keegan was 30 years old when she died from an aggressive form of pelvic cancer. Cared for by her parents, three sisters and younger brother, her family recounted her story from diagnosis to her death. She died at home surrounded by her family and the viewer was left with a definite impression of a woman very much at peace with herself before she left this world.
Her family were especially grateful for the efforts that were made by Máire's wide circle of friends and neighbours during her illness.
At the time of filming, nine-year-old Glen Vincent was still alive. He suffered from a nerve cell tumour which led to severe deformity of his spine. Despite this, his family did all in their power to make sure he took part in every activity he wanted to. He surprised his parents with his maturity and positive attitude toward his inevitable death. His family spoke of how the burden of caring for him was eased by the tremendous support of not only the health system but of family and neighbours.
Glen died last October, before the airing of this programme.
And finally Breda Murphy and her family shared their experience of motor neurone disease. Diagnosed with the disease 14 years ago, last year saw Breda develop a chest infection which led to respiratory failure. She described her time in ICU, saying that what she missed most during that time was having her family around.
Despite her diagnosis and physical limitations, she considers herself very content with her lot. She has a sound marriage, good relationships with her children and she is happy.
She no longer worries about things but has learned to take life as it comes.
This programme owed much to the generosity and candour of its contributors. However, at only 26 minutes, it perhaps tried to cram too much into a very short time by including several people unrelated to the three main stories.
In particular, the concluding comments of the last contributor - that the concept of "Meitheal" is no longer a feature of Irish life and is a dying tradition - struck an unfortunate note of negativity and seemed at odds with the other voices in the documentary.
Partially funded by the Mid Western Health Board, it was produced by Dr Sinéad Donnelly, a consultant in palliative medicine.
Her experience helped provide an insight into the lives of "ordinary" individuals and their families who had transcended their suffering with the support of their wider community.