Letter from America.

From: Marilyn M Bui
To: Oonagh Devoy
CC: Katherine A Galagan MD

Subject: FW: Healing Art of Pathology

Dear Oonagh

Seasons’ greetings. Hope all is well with you. Please let me introduce you to Dr. Katherine Galagan who is the co-editor of this book and will be formatting the layout of the book/editing the writing. We are pleased to inform you that we love your submissions. Look forward to working with you to receive a high quality image and some other items listed in the files attached. Please include both of us in your future communication, but make sure the high quality image get to Dr. Galagan via either email or drop box. Katherine will also contact you to discuss possible revision of the writing. Thank you!

Please also send our warmest regards to your daughter.
Marilyn



From: Oonagh Devoy
To: Marilyn M Bui

Subject: Healing Art of Pathology

Please find attached a low res image for your consideration and my accompanying statement for the project "Healing Art of Pathology"
Kind Regards
Oonagh Devoy BA HONS Fine Art, TQFE


At the age of four and a half our daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumour. It was a massive shock for us all: we could not have guessed. Her symptoms had been gradual: clumsiness, lack of co-ordination, others that we had missed. It was only in the two weeks before her diagnosis that her symptoms became severe: double vision, fits and vomiting.
On the day of her diagnosis she was admitted to hospital, administered painkillers and steroids to reduce the swelling. We had no idea how much pain our daughter was in. As the tumour increased in size so did the pressure within her skull. Her pain was her normality and she saw no reason to complain. I felt tremendous guilt that I had not recognised she was suffering.
A week later the swelling was reduced enough so that the surgeons could operate. As we sat in the High Dependency Unit with her after her operation we were unsure of whether she would survive. It was a time a great intimacy and sleep was near impossible. It felt wrong to take photographs but I needed a part of her so I sat at her bedside and made a number of drawings. They would either be a reminder of a journey or a memorial to our beloved child.
One of the milestones of her recovery was the pathology results of the tumour. I cannot tell you how long we had to wait, it was a surreal time, time dragged, we lived from day to day. Thankfully the results returned benign and slow growing. Pathology had given us hope for the future.

​I asked my daughter permission to include this drawing in this collection, for it is her drawing and her journey. She was happy to share.