Galway mum appeals to Mayo GAA stars to help son fulfil dream before surgery

Megan Murphy’s son Paddy, a sixth class pupil with spina bifida and scoliosis is preparing for a “hard” few weeks of surgeries to treat his conditions.

Paddy is one of 82 children in Ireland waiting for life-changing orthopaedic surgery.

He had been due to receive feet surgery before Christmas but mum Megan told the Connacht Tribune in December that the HSE had not yet contacted them about the procedure. He is also due to undergo scoliosis surgery this year.

Before that, however, he hopes to realise his dream of attending a Mayo GAA training session and meeting his sporting heroes.

Taking to Twitter on Monday, Megan shared a photo of her son dressed head-to-toe in Mayo colours as he enjoyed some fresh air on his power assisted wheelchair.

Directing her tweet at the official Mayo GAA account and three-time All Star Aidan O’Shea, she wrote: “This is my son Paddy, kitted out in his usual Mayo attire head to toe (just what his Galway mother loves to see) please get him to a training session to meet the lads and watch them train. Hard times now some big surgeries upcoming. Pop a bit of joy our way.”

Children living with spina bifida in Ireland have been known to wait up to four years for surgery, with many facing health deterioration, amputation, and organ failure as a result of the long wait for treatment.

“Kids with spina bifida who could walk, with the aid of crutches, are back in wheelchairs because they are waiting so long for surgery,” Megan said in a recent interview.

“We are sitting at home watching our children’s bodies and limbs become deformed; they are being confined to wheelchairs; wheelchair users unable to propel anymore.

“They are physically and psychologically deteriorating before our eyes,” the mum-of-two added.