We’re just so proud of this town and all our people
Disabled girl’s op fund boost
Zoe Murphy
In just five months residents in Dundalk, Co Louth, raised €100,000 to pay for Zoe Murphy’s US operation.
Her family confirmed instead of having the operation in February next year she is set to be in theatre this summer.
Zoe, two, was born with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy and her parents Eamon and Lynda were told without the procedure she will struggle to walk.
Her mum praised the “amazing” support from the community after a Gofundme page was set up in September.
She said: “When it is one of their own, the people of Dundalk really come together.”
Lynda added Zoe is now a celebrity in the town and looks for her photograph in local newspapers. She added: “It is beyond anything I imagined. We want to let the people of Dundalk know how proud we are coming from the town and of the people in the town. The town is not only good for football.”
The Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy operation will be performed at Saint Louis Children’s Hospital, Missouri, by a paediatric neurosurgeon.
Securing the funds quickly means Zoe is to get her surgery earlier than expected after being put on a cancellation list.
Lynda said as the money must be paid in full 45 days before the operation, they will get almost two months’ notice and she is hopeful it will happen during the summer holidays.
Zoe will be in the US for five weeks as she must complete a month of intensive after-care following the operation.
Lynda said: “We hope the funds will get her a year’s worth of physiotherapy, which she will need four to five times a week. It is just as important as surgery.”
news@irishmirror.ie With older siblings With mum Lynda