Faith relies on hope and charity to fulfill her dreams
ATHLETES SET TO TAKE TO THE ROAD TO HELP FUND LIFE-CHANGING OPERATION FOR CASTLETOWNROCHE GIRL
THE hopes of a community will be bolstered by the charity of up to 70 athletes who will run from Killarney to Castletownroche on Saturday for Faith.
The runners will take on the challenge to raise funds for a life-changing operation for Castletownroche girl Faith Browne, so that she can realise her cherished dream of taking her own first unaided steps.
Faith was born with a condition that means she is unable to stand, walk or even crawl without help. However, an operation carried out at a hospital in the US could change all of that – providing Faith’s parents can raise the estimated $100,000 needed for the procedure and follow-up care.
A GROUP of runners will next Saturday take tens of thousands of steps between them as they take on a mammoth challenge they hope will help pave the way for a brave little Castletownroche girl to take her very first ones.
More than 70 members from a number of athletic clubs will be pounding the pavements and roads between Killarney and the North Cork village to help raise money for a life-changing operation for toddler Faith Browne.
Beneath Faith’s beautiful smile lies the heartbreak of not being able to do what most threeand-a-half year old children quite literally take in their stride.
Faith has spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, a condition that severely inhibits movement in her lower limbs, resulting in stiffness and balance issues that mean she is unable to stand, walk or even crawl without help. Faith also has Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder (ANSD), a rare hearing condition that blocks the transmission of sound from the inner ear to the brain.
Thanks to the charity of family friends, neighbours and even Irish international footballer James McLean there is the hope that Faith may be able to walk thanks to a hospital in the US that specialises in an operation which helps people with spastic cerebral palsy to move independently.
After an exhaustive search, Faith’s parents, Lisa Browne and Dave Carroll, found out about Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) a procedure carried out at the St Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri.
It will involve separating rootlets in Faith’s spine which, teamed with an intensive regime of post-operation physiotherapy, will help her to finally realise her dream of walking, skipping and playing just like her older sister Lydia.
A poignant message written from Faith on the campaign page said it “breaks her heart” that she can not do the things that 10-year-old Lydia takes for granted.
“I find it hard to look at Lydia playing with her friends as I can’t understand why my legs won’t work like everybody else. Being able to walk seems so simple to others, but it is near impossible to me.”
In order to cover the estimated $100,000 cost of the operation, travel to the US and four week’s accommodation, post operative physio and up to three years of private physio and specialist equipment the aptly named ‘Hope for Faith’ Go Fund Me campaign was set up last year.
While Faith’s family have received generous financial support from across Ireland, including a €1,000 donation from James McLean, Faith’s cousin Michaela Browne said they are still a long way off from realising the money needed for the operation and follow-up treatment.
She said the hope was that Saturday’s 80km run from Killarney to Castletownroche would help rekindle awareness in the fund and encourage people to dig deep for her cousin.
“We all just want Faith to live a pain-free, independent life one day. This operation in St Louis is what we are counting on to transform her life for the better,” said Michaela.
“To see Faith one day walk, skip and dance would be a dream come true for all of us.”
To find out more visit the Hope for Faith Go Fund Me and Facebook pages.