Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
I’m embarassed but the generosity of people is incredible
Dad tells of £3k gift for Evie’s treatment
A DAD battling to raise money to help care for his daughter has been “overwhelmed” by people’s kindness after a receiving an anonymous donation of £3,000.
Gary Toner, from Mayobridge, Co Down, is struggling to pay for specialist equipment and treatment for two-yearold Evie due to her complex needs.
The tot, who has a twin sister Esme, experienced complications at birth, including a stroke that have left her with four-limb cerebral palsy and blindness.
Gary’s wife Lucy has had to give up work to help care for their daughter full time, including monitoring her for epileptic seizures.
In a bid to raise much-needed money Gary will run a 45-mile route parallel to the roads Evie took when she was rushed from the hospital where she was born to a specialist unit.
She received an initial diagnosis of Hypoxic Ischemic Encephelopathy,
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however, an MRI revealed a serious stroke affected both sides of her brain.
Gary, who now lives in Kent, says he and Lucy have been “touched and moved” by people’s genorosity.
He added: “I’m a bit embarassed to be honest to be doing this, but with Lucy having to give up work and specialist physio sessions at £85 a go and all the rest of it, it’s not long adding up.
“But people were encouraging me to do it and I must say it’s been touching – the genorosity of people and the kind comments. We got an anonymous donation for £3,000, which is pretty incredible.
“You get to see other people are facing similar difficulties but that they just keep going, taking each day as it comes. You have to, we have to, for Evie.”
Gary, who is a former pupil of St Colman’s and Abbey Grammar in Newry, said he and Lucy have three “beautiful daughters” – Meaghan, seven, and Esme and Evie.
The identical twins were born via emergency C-section but after complications Evie was transferred to ICU.
She was eventually diagnosed with evolving four-limb cerebral palsy. At Great Ormond Street in London, it was confirmed her optic nerve was not functioning and she was registered blind.
Evie has also developed seizures and she has been treated at the Evelina Children’s Hospital in London to manage her epilepsy. Gary and Lucy are both physiotherapists but, as they say on their Crowdfunding page: “We are both adult physios and do not have the expertise of our paediatric colleagues. Evie will never be able to sit independently, crawl or walk and will require full care throughout her life.
“In setting up this page, I am planning on raising money for Evie to provide her with specialist physiotherapy, appropriate sensory equipment and opportunities to enjoy and improve her quality of life. In September I will run the route Evie took to save her life when she was less than two days old. This will involve running from the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital, Margate to the Oliver Fisher Neonatal unit at the Medway Maritime Hospital. It will involve a 45-mile run along the coast.” To donate visit www.justgiving.com/ crowdfunding/evietonersjourney.