Miracle for Mikey

The next step is getting closer

A family desperate for help to send their son for life-saving surgery say they were left overwhelmed after a weekend of fundraising.

We told you earlier this month how Donna McNulty and family are desperately trying to raise £22,000 to send her son Michael to Barcelona.

There the Chiari Malformation sufferer can undergo pioneering and preventative surgery.

Nine-year-old Michael suffers from the lifethreatening neurological disorder, which means his brain is too big for his skull causing extreme pain.

However, the surgery at the Chiari Institute in Barcelona has already proved highly successful in alleviating pain and symptoms in other children.

At the weekend, the family sat back in amazement as their fundraising efforts raced towards the £13,000 mark.

That’s thanks to a fundraising walk at Strathclyde Park where dozens of Michael’s family and friends helped raise over £700.

There, Donna learned of an additonal £1000 donation from a “lovely dad and his friend,” which was then match-funded by his work, helping to take donations to £2700 for the walk.

And later at night, Easst Kilbride Youth Club held their own fundraisier, raffling off a host of goodies including a signed Liverpool top.

That saw the club raise a whopping £3000 for the cause.

Donna, who lives with a mild form of the condition herself, told us: “Saturday was such a great day and Mikey got a wee bit emotional at the end of it.

“It was a lot to take in for him. Very soon we will be sitting at £13,000, so we are now offically over half way in only four weeks. I cannot put into words how grateful we are.”

For the past year, Michael has suffered from migranes, sickness, exhaustion and sleep apnea where he stops breathing in his sleep three to four times an hour. And these have continued to get worse.

The only treatment available in the UK is a highly invasive craniectomy procedure called decompression, where part of the skull is removed to make room for the herniated tonsils.

But, with many risks, complications and months of recovery attached, Donna believes the minimally invasive and specialist surgery in Barcelona is the best and safest option for Michael. And it is one that has borne success. Donna was inspired by the story of ten-yearold Coventry dancer Selah Neely whose Chiara diagnosis left her with so much pain in her feet she had to rely on a wheelchair.

But with the specialist surgery, she was up on her feet within 24-hours and walking within five days.

The NHS told her family there was nothing else they could do for her.

Student primary school teacher Donna added: “It’s been a frightening and stressful time.”

That led to her setting up the ‘Miracle for Mikey’ fundraising page with help of Just4Children charity, Paisley Basketball Club, Glasgow Rocks and GB Basketball ambassador Kieron Achara

Despite the great efforts at the weekend, the family are still some way short of their target and will host a five-a-side football fundraiser in November, a basketball fundraiser with the Glasgow Rocks in January, and a racenight in February.

You can do your bit and donate by heading to www.justgiving.com/campaign/ SurgeryforMichaelChiariMalformation