A campaign to get lifesaving treatment for the daughter of a Donegal Town man has got off to an amazing start – but there’s still plenty of fundraising to be done.
Little Olivia (Livie) Mulhern was born last August leaving parents Keith and Karen the proudest couple in the world.
Keith admits “We have never felt a love like this. It was incredible for us to see our first child smile, laugh and babble for the first time and watch her develop her little bright, affectionate and loving personality.
“Livie brings such joy and happiness to our lives every day and her smile can brighten the whole room even on the rainiest Irish day.”
But their world changed forever on April 9th last when little Livie was diagnosed with the rare condition SMA type 1.
The condition affects just one of 10,000 babies and means a deterioration of Livie’s nerve cells connecting her brain and spinal cord to her body’s muscles.
And worse still is that Livie has the most serious form of the condition and is unlikely to live past her second birthday if she does not get vital treatment.
Now Keith and Karen, who live in Ashbourne, Co Meath, and their families have launched a fundraising campaign to get vital treatment in the US which they hope will save Livie and give her a better quality of life long-term.
But they need a staggering $2Million for the treatment.
Little Livie.
A fundraising campaign started just a few days ago has already raised a whopping €152,000.
The family’s best hope for a better life for Livie is a once-off gene therapy called Zolgensma, which is currently only available in America and costs approximately US$2,100,000.
However, studies have shown that Zolgensma can substantially improve quality of life. Livie’s antibody test qualifies her for the treatment.
Keith added “We are against the clock as Zolgensma is only available to children under the age of two years.”
Livie’s grandfather Martin Mulhern, a well-known Donegal Town native, said people have been so generous.
He asked them to continue to spread the word and to go to the Go Fund Me page and give what they can.
“She is such a beautiful child and always smiling. We just want to give her the best chance we can,” said Martin.
Please follow the link and donate what you can to help Little Livie https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-better-life-for-livie?utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet
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