Now that I am free of kidney dialysis, I want others to be free too
The only value of having power is to empower other people in turn. Experience of illness and the health system yields simple insights into how care can be improved
Orla Tinsley: The movie that shows the power of love
Spruce up your broomsticks and oil your frogs, it’s about to get spooky and slimy again, as Practical Magic Two is on the horizon
In Dalkey I feel the same thing Matt Damon surely did before me: this is where I’m meant to be
The sea air masks a weight that would otherwise be crushing: no kidney transplant or living donor has worked out for me yet
Orla Tinsley: Competing to stay alive should not be our reality, but it is
How can we move towards an idea of community rather than competition for care?
Orla Tinsley: The safest dialysis experience I have had at this hospital . . . I just had to get Covid to have it
In those transitory spaces in the hospital, where you think you can breathe a sigh of relief, don’t
Orla Tinsley: 26 ways you can organise your hospital space to make it safe and soothing
Don’t let healthcare surroundings determine how you feel. Make the space your own with a few home comforts and items of self-care
Orla Tinsley: I plant my feet in memory now, in rooted gratitude
What’s gone, what’s next, within is now all we can live for
‘It’s timeee!’ for a celebration of Mariah Carey, the ultimate Queen of Christmas
Orla Tinsley: As I fought for life, the joy and magic of seeing Mariah Carey live, suspended in time, was something that could live forever
Orla Tinsley: The health system is not meeting its patients’ needs
I bought a commode that the HSE should have provided. I paid for the hand railing the HSE should have provided
Orla Tinsley: ‘The chart, to my horror, says I am on 10mg. But I’m on 7.5mg. And the voice had given me 20mg’
There must be accountability, and removal and retraining of staff who create danger for patients in their care
Orla Tinsley: I’d like to be telling you about my dream life, but here’s a nightmare from Ireland’s health system instead
Medical gaslighting after a serious injury makes recovery a long, tortuous road
Orla Tinsley: During my third week of isolation in hospital I got the call -‘How could an indoor cat be missing?’
Orla Tinsley: I was a penniless student, but there was one kitten, King George, who melted my heart
Sometimes, when you need a witness – or Ed Sheeran – social media can be a source for good
Orla Tinsley: Social media morphs into a space to write intentionally and lyrically when picking up a pen is not an option
Orla Tinsley: Ireland’s long road towards making it easier to receive a transplant
The Human Tissue Bill has taken 15 years to reach committee stage but it promises to be a milestone for donors and those in need of organs
Orla Tinsley: ‘I stay in the sun seeking something beyond reality as long as I can’
In the Irish Health service, it is up to the patient to make the space-time continuum between the then of the appointment and the now of the pain work