Students raise €30,000 for Dylan
Dublin People 21 Dec 2011
KIND-hearted
students at a Southside school raised a staggering
?¬30,000 in just three weeks
before Christmas in a bid to send a little boy with cerebral palsy to a US
clinic.
Five-year-old
Dylan Walsh cannot stand or walk independently and needs to use a wheelchair to
get around.
His father,
Gerard, who is a construction and woodwork teacher at Wesley College in
Ballinteer, told Southside People that he is currently trying to raise the
?¬60,000
needed for an operation at a US clinic to radically improve his son’s mobility.
Management at
St Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri recently informed Gerard that Dylan
had been accepted as a suitable candidate for surgery.
If successful,
the surgery would enable Dylan to walk independently indoors.
Gerard said
that another little boy who goes to the same Enable Ireland clinic in Bray that
Dylan attends had recently undergone the operation – known as SDR (selective
dorsal rhizotomy) – with positive results.
He launched a
fundraising campaign to raise the money Dylan needs to undergo the operation.
When he presented a video outlining Dylan’s campaign to teachers and students
at Wesley College he said they responded overwhelmingly.
In just three
weeks the students managed to raise a massive
?¬30,250 for the campaign.
Gerard came up
with an idea to raise funds by challenging the world record for the most people
dancing to the classic 1970’s tune
‘Rock the Boat’.
“The record
stood at 1,428 and unfortunately we fell a little short on numbers with 1,324
turning up,
? Gerard said.
“It was a fantastic experience and past pupils and
parents, present parents and friends of the college were there. Students from
Kiltiernan, Taney and Whitechurch primary schools also attended.
“I am
astonished by the amount of money the students have raised. It is a staggering
amount of money. They did it by going around and knocking on doors and through
getting sponsorship for the ‘Rock the Boat’ event.
“I have heard
of kids busking on Grafton Street. Two girls cycled from Brittas Bay to Wesley
and there have also been bake sales.
?
Gerard is
hoping that the operation will significantly improve Dylan’s mobility.
“We are not
expecting Dylan to ever do a 10km walk nor do we see this as a cure,
? he
stated.
“Ongoing physiotherapy will be part of Dylan’s routine day with or
without this surgery. The difference for Dylan will be the quality of his
life.
?
He added:
“The
ability to do the simple things in life that we all take for granted would give
Dylan an independence that he hasn’t had up to now. Things like having the
ability to get off a chair and go to the bathroom on his own and maybe even
jump – all impossible tasks at the moment.
?
Anyone who
wants to find out more about Dylan’s campaign or who wants to donate can log on
to www.dylansdreamtowalk.ie
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