Three months ago, a young local boy, Fionn McAnaney, whose family live in Killucan, travelled with his parents to St. Louis Children’s Hospital in the US, for specialist corrective surgery for cerebral palsy. Last week, despite all the major costs involved, it was clear that the efforts had been more than worthwhile, as little Fionn has benefitted hugely from the surgery.
Back in July of this year, the family of seven-years-old Fionn McAnaney spoke to Topic about their little boy who had just undergone Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) in America. This is a specialist surgery which corrects muscle spasticity by cutting the nerve rootlets in the spinal cord that are sending abnormal signals to the muscles.
He had been diagnosed with spastic dipelgia celebral palsy the year before and his parents met Dr. Parks, the surgeon from St. Louis Children’s Hospital that April in Dublin. All his scans and MRIs were sent to Dr. Parks in St. Louis, and the surgeon was optimistic that the surgical treatment would be a big help to Fionn, now a pupil in first class in The Downs National School.
The family began fundraising in June 2018 and raised €54,000 up to July last to help pay for the cost of obtaining the overseas treatment for Fionn. Considerably more was needed, but the raising of funds went on and a total of €30,665 was handed over last week for the fund by those involved in more recent fundraising efforts.
Arriving at Joristown GAA park last week, the good news elements of the story were very much in evidence, with young Fionn McAnaney in high spirits as he raced around the grounds with his friends. Speaking to Topic, Fionn’s mother Catherine explained that he was the main beneficiary of this year’s All-Ireland GAA Golf Challenge which was held in the Nuremore and Concra Wood Golf Courses in Monaghan in August. “Today we are being presented with the cheque and the committee came here for the presentation.”
As stated earlier, after Fionn’s diagnosis, the family immediately sprang into action and began to fund-raise straight away in order to give their little boy the best chance of making headway.
Speaking to Topic, Catherine said he had benefitted hugely from the surgery.
“He is absolutely flying now. Once he got back on his feet after the surgery, he hasn’t stopped since,” she explained. “He doesn’t tire out as easily anymore and it is like a weight has been lifted from him. He doesn’t trip or fall and walks with his heels flat on the ground. He can jump – and that sounds trivial but if you had seen how he was before you would understand. His therapist said that if she met him now for the first time, she wouldn’t consider that he had cerebral palsy. He’s perfect,” Catherine said.
She said that it is now down to “fine tuning” and they are working on certain muscle groups in order to strengthen them. “Overall, he’s 100 per cent. He’s miles ahead of where he would be without it, so it’s brilliant.”
All those who helped in the major fundraising efforts to assist little Fionn are to be greatly complimented, and seeing him in such great shape and high spirits at Joristown last week was very rewarding for all those who were involved.
Fionn’s grandmother Maureen also spoke to Topic about the young boy’s amazing progress. “He’s just doing so well and it’s unbelievable that he has improved so much. I brought him to physio two weeks and the physiotherapist said if it was the first time she met him, he would not be presenting with any symptoms of cerebral palsy.
“When he’d be playing Under-8 hurling, he would never get the ball and would always be the last one to get it. He would come home filthy from school from falling so many times and now he’s a different little boy. All he wants to do next year is to learn how to roll lift and jab lift the ball. He’s just full of ambition and is a great little lad,” she said lovingly.
