ELEVEN-year-old Kilkenny girl Jamie Murphy has left Ireland for the UK and is currently in preparation for a life saving, six-hour long operation which she is about to receive this weekend.
Jamie, from Graiguenamanagh in Co Kilkenny is suffering from severe scoliosis or curvature of the spine which is compressing her internal organs making it difficult for her to breathe. Jamie is also confined to a wheelchair.
She has been on a waiting list at Crumlin Children’s Hospital in Dublin but as a result of cutbacks leading to the closure of a ward and an operating theatre, her operation cannot be scheduled although the procedure is deemed to be life saving in the long term.
In desperation her parents have taken the little girl, who weighs less than two stone, to Great Ormonde Street Hospital in London where she will undergo her operation tomorrow.
A mystery benefactor has come forward and offered to pay for the treatment which could cost in the region of €100,000.
Since the issue was brought to the media’s attention, the issue of cutbacks in the children’s hospital has also been raised in the Dail resulting in the freezing of further cutbacks at the hospital.
The length of time that Jamie will spend in intensive care following the operation is dependant on how quickly she recovers from the operation and she could spend up to four weeks in the ICU.
Jamie’s parents Eimear and Peter have accompanied their daughter on her journey and will remain with her while she makes her recovery.
