Donations are flooding in for beloved baby Olivia Mulhern as she celebrates her first birthday.
Little Livie’s parents have just one wish for her today – that they can achieve a goal that at first seemed unimaginable.
Livie has spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1. It is a rare and serious genetic neuromuscular condition that, without treatment, will cut short her chances of life.
Her family gained boost of hope today as their €2million fund to secure potentially life-saving treatment for Livie comes within reach.
Baby Livie turns one today
At midnight, there was just €15,000 left to raise. Livie’s parents – Keith, who is from Donegal Town, and Karen Vickers from Dublin – made a special plea to people to add a ‘virtual candle’ to Livie’s birthday cake with a small donation.
“Imagine we managed to hit the €1,000,000 mark for her today. Some day, we hope to tell her all about #TeamLivie and just how special her 1st Birthday was,” they said.
Donations have been coming in fast all morning and Livie’s army of supporters have been sharing positive wishes with her and her family online.
It is hoped that there will be even greater celebrations before the day is out.
Visit the ‘Better Life for Livie’ GoFundMe page here: https://gf.me/u/yjm33w
Little Livie Mulhern and her parents Keith and Karen.
The past week has already had many ups and downs for little Livie’s family. Her parents had originally planned to travel to the US for her Zolgensma treatment. However, Keith and Karen recently learned that the HSE has treated two children in Ireland with Zolgensma under a compassionate access programme. They discovered that qualifying children around the world are randomly selected to receive the gene therapy, but it was unlikely that Livie would be selected.
Keith and Karen were heartbroken this week when their efforts to pay for Livie’s treatment with the HSE hit a roadblock.
“We approached the HSE and offered to pay the full cost of Zolgensma to them in order to have Livie treated here in Ireland. The HSE have the skills, experience and resources to help Livie BUT HAVE CHOSEN NOT TO DO SO,” they wrote on GoFundMe.
“We have pleaded with the HSE to help us avoid the risk of travel with our very vulnerable child during a global pandemic. Their response was that it is OUR DECISION to travel during this pandemic.…”
However, the family are staying optimistic in their drive to save their baby girl:
“We are so grateful that we have options available to help Livie outside of Ireland. We are looking in to a treatment centre for Livie, and will keep you all updated as soon as the plan is in place!”
Visit the ‘Better Life for Livie’ GoFundMe page here: https://gf.me/u/yjm33w
Follow Livie’s journey on Facebook: A Better Life for Livie
