A Donegal man is planning to travel the length of Ireland in his vintage tractor in memory of his late wife.
Paddy Duffy, aged 74, wants to raise as much funds as possible for the Cardiac Services Unit at Beaumont Hospital and the CR♥I House, Cardiac Foundation in Galway.
Paddy lost his wife Kathleen to a hereditary heart condition in 2005 at
the age of just 63.
And now Paddy, a former mechanic and landscape gardener from Greencastle, is set to rave the elements by driving from Mizen to Malin in his open cab 1961 Massey Ferguson 35x tractor.
Because of Kathleen’s death, Paddy’s daughters Sharon and Anne Marie attend Beaumont on an annual basis for check-ups due to the condition being hereditary.
In April 2018 Sharon, 41, was admitted to Letterkenny University Hospital with chest pains and after failing a stress test she was transferred to
Galway for an angiogram.
Sharon was told she had a 90% blockage in her left main coronary artery which required a stent but due to her age, they wanted to follow up with a CT angiogram before committing her to lifelong medication.
This resulted in Sharon being admitted to Galway University Hospital.
Sharon’s husband Noel was given a number for CROI House by the staff nurse in the Cardiology Dept in Galway University Hospital and this enabled him to be with Sharon for the full week she was in Galway University Hospital.
Paddy, a founding member of Moville Vintage Club, said “I just want to give something back and I thought what better way than to travel the length of Ireland in a tractor.
“I’m really thankful to both of these organisations for helping my family and we’re hoping to raise as much money as possible for them.”
The family has already been inundated with support and offers of diesel and diesel vouchers for Paddy’s marathon journey.
The Duffy family feel that these are two very worthy causes and due to the
excellent care Kathleen received from Beaumont Cardiac Unit and the wonderful facilities that is offered by CROI House to families who unexpectedly find their loved ones admitted to hospital so far from home they want to be able to give something back for the care they received.
Paddy has already raised more than €700 of his €2,000 goal on a Go Fund Me Page. If you would like to donate in any way, please log on to https://www.gofundme.com/paddy039s-tractor-run
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