The launch of yesterday’s fundraising drive which will see 56 people undertake the Belfast Marathon for little Paul Doherty.
With his operation now set for March, 2015, a very special group has backed the campaign to help little Paul Doherty walk for the first time.
A strong group of 56 people are now registered for the 2015 Belfast City Marathon in a bid to raise as much funding as possible for the young Donegal lad.
The official launch of the marathon fund-raising campaign took place yesterday.
Patsy McGonagle, FVAC gave the group words of encouragement and paid credit to the tremendous work that had been done locally to support this local fundraiser.
Local legend Jason Quigley was also there to support the event. The date for Paul’s operation has now been set for March 3rd 2015.
This event was organised by James Maguire from Finn Valley Athletics Club and is fully supported by Finn Valley Athletics Club.
Paul has spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. The fund aims to raise a minimum of €60,000 to allow Paul to have an operation that will enable him to walk. They started out on their fundraising journey trying to raise what they thought was an unachievable amount of €60,000.00.
What they didn’t take into account was the incredible support they would receive from the public. In the short time of 14 weeks they had reached their target and can now say with confidence that Paul will have his operation in March 2015.
Anne Marie Doherty, his mother explains “Since Paul could talk he always told me “Mammy, I want to walk”. It broke my heart to see him stuck in a wheelchair not been able to run about with his brother and sister or even to be able to pick up a toy from the floor that he wanted to play with.
“Paul is a happy boy, playful and full of devilment! As his mother, I always fought to get him the services and therapies he needed. While the HSE gave Paul what they could they could never offer him the opportunity to be able to walk.
“Then I came across an operation in America called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR). The operation involves cutting some of the nerves in Paul’s spinal cord that are misfiring the muscles in his leg.”
Anne Marie always said that the €60,000.00 would pay for the operation and just 4-6 months of an intense 2 year post operative physiotherapy program.
“We are organising this relay marathon so that Paul will have funding for more of his therapy after the operation. One day we would love to see Paul doing a part of a relay marathon with us….. Even 50 metres walking would be a dream come true for Paul.”
So let’s all get together and support this incredible group of people to support Paul. The relay team will be looking for sponsors over the coming months. We wish them all the best!
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