A Tandragee Vice Principal living with a painful ‘butterfly-skin’ condition has been selected to for the over 60s ladies World Cup Hockey Masters!
Since birth, Laverne Inns – originally from Magherafelt and now living in Banbridge – has lived with a rare and painful skin condition known as Epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EB simplex).
Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is the name for a group of rare inherited skin disorders that cause the skin to become very fragile. Any trauma or friction to the skin can cause painful blisters.
There are two other main types of EB known as EB dystrophic and EB junctional, with variants of each type ranging from moderate to severe.
For Laverne, her symptoms began from birth with “wee tiny blisters” on both her and her sister’s (who also inherited the condition) feet.
“My mother, in those days, was told we had sensitive skin and to get us into the sea water, wear cotton socks and to run in our bare feet as much as possible,” said Laverne. However, it wasn’t until much later in life that she actually discovered it was more than just skin sensitivity.
“It wasn’t until around 35 years later,” said Laverne of her diagnosis. “My skin was really bad with skin off my heels and toes and my dad asked was there no cure for what I had. I was managing it myself with ointments and creams but I went to speak with a doctor and was referred to the dermatology department in Belfast City Hospital and they said I had a skin condition called EB simplex.”
Despite the pain and complications that come with EB, Laverne maintains she has always “just got on with life” and never complains.
She comes from an incredibly sporty background and family – with her dad continuing to play badminton into his 80s!
Throughout her years teaching, she has been involved with all manner of clubs and activities… throwing herself head-first into every club school-life had to offer – especially in her younger years.
Over the course of her career she has been involved with hockey – obviously- school discos, dancing clubs, hiking and rambling, trampolining and majorette baton twirling… she even once trained as an aerobics teacher!
But the mind almost always harkens back to her days of teacher-training in Stranmillis.
One day when speaking with a friend at Curves, she was asked when she felt she was at her fittest. Laverne replied, “I said it was when we played hockey and we had to run up the big hill in Stranmillis”.
That friend was a hockey player herself and asked Laverne if she would ever consider joining the team at Newry Olympic Hockey Club.
Taken aback by the suggestion, Laverne humbly stated she hadn’t played hockey in over 20 years! But she was soon talked around and reassured that she only had to give it a go.
“When I went down it had all changed… the sticks had changed and the rules had changed and men were playing! Back when I was at school it was always a girl’s game so I was quite shocked to see the men there,” she laughed.
Some of the blisters Laverne has suffered
“I fell in love with hockey again. I went on to being captain for the firsts and played Ulster hockey senior four to senior three and was captain of the seconds and then I found out a couple of years back about Hockey Masters.”
Hockey Masters is a format of field hockey for players aged 35 and above, organised in age-specific groups with local, national, and international competitions.
By the time Laverne learned about Masters Hockey she was 55-years-old.
Around a year ago, she then also found out about Alliance International – another veteran hockey format with a league that runs alongside the World Masters, known as the Spirit of Masters.
Said Laverne: “Last year I went for Irish trials for the first time in my life and they were hoping to enter an over 55 team for New Zealand. I would get up and run or jog as part of my training and when I was out one day, I fell!
“I was quite tired and pulled my hamstring and hurt my knee but didn’t realise how bad I had hurt myself. When I went down for the trial, I was passed quite an easy ball but I wasn’t even able to run for it. That was me out of the running for Ireland. But that was OK. I followed the girls and I saw they won silver in the World Cup in New Zealand and then I saw something else about an over 55 Alliance that had won silver as well.”
Research into Alliance International revealed that, it too, ensured over 35s could attend international competitions and festivals.
She put her name into the hat and had to submit her relevant history, which included her time playing for Ulster and a little social hockey club called Wicked.
To no surprise, Laverne was accepted and went on to play in a festival in Tilburg, Netherlands.
It was her first taste of playing abroad in the heat. With her EB diagnosis, it was very much a learning curve. She had to learn how to protect her skin through the game, heat and sweat.
The trip alone – as all are – was entirely self-funded. But Laverne also has the additional expenditure of finding equipment that supports her condition such as wheeled hockey bags, special chamois grips for her sticks, gloves, light trainers with cushioning and all manner of creams, lotions and additional aids.
“It can all cost thousands of pounds,” she said. But in the end, it was absolutely worth it!
At the Alliance International festival, Laverne scored against England (which prompted a wry smile as her English husband watched on!) and she was then also asked to play for the Italians when their striker ended up injured.
Despite having a relatively difficult year in her personal life dealing with bereavement, Laverne pushed herself on and applied for the World Cup Hockey Masters.
She qualified for the games in the over 60s category and cannot wait to get to Brasschaat, Belgium to compete this August 3 to 17.
Alongside everything she does, Laverne has had the incredible support of Debra UK – a charity supporting those living with all forms of EB.
She is infinitely grateful for the support and knowledge the charity have been able to provide to her, her sister and countless others.
Speaking to Armagh I, she recalled several high profile celebrities who have recently done their bit to help elevate awareness of the charity and the condition in recent years.
“In 2023, Graeme Souness – the Liverpool Manager – swam the English Channel for a little girl, Isla who lives with Epidermolysis bullosa. Colin Farrell also did the Dublin Marathon with his last 4k pushing a wheelchair with his friend, Emma Fogarty who has EB.”
Last year, Debra UK also hosted a get-together event in Titanic Hotel, Belfast for people living with EB in Northern Ireland to meet and network. They have even provided Laverne with a state-of-the-art Dyson fan for her classroom which, she says, all the kids have learned to work!
Ahead of the World Cup in Brasschaat, Laverne is hoping to raise a small amount of money to support her travels and costs.
She said: “I am privileged and delighted to get to this level. I am concerned about my condition but I have learned ways to manage.
“For me, once I see that skin turning white raw or shift, I know there’s a blister coming. There isn’t any cure but they are trying to find things that will work.”
She encourages anyone wanting to learn more about the condition to look up Debra Charity here.
