Four friends will take on a fundraising challenge in a couple of weeks time to raise money to send an inspiring young boy to Disneyland - a young boy who they have never met before.
Gerard Haughey, from West Belfast, reached out to the family of a six-year-old boy who was diagnosed with a rare form on Non Hodgkin Lymphoma, to ask if he could raise money for the family to go to Disneyland in Paris.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Gerard, who has raised money for other families and charities in the past, said he was inspired by young Conall's bravery.
Conall's family said he had an upset tummy for a week, so they had brought him to the doctor because it wasn’t easing and was getting more frequent.
"The doctor said he it was likely a tummy bug," they added.
"The very next day Conall was in in agony with his tummy so we brought him to A&E and the suspected hepatitis until they done an ultrasound sound and seen there was a couple of different masses. He has three large masses on his pancreas one one the head, the tail and on the body of the pancreas. He had a large on on his bowel and one on his colon and a few other smaller tumours around his abdomen area.
"He was diagnosed with a rare form on Non Hodgkin lymphoma that is usually easy to treat but he started chemo straight away and after a few weeks we were told it wasn’t working.
"Conall has tumours on his liver that was obstructing anything from draining, his body was filling with fluid that lead to him needing surgery for drains into his liver, both lungs and stomach. They put a stint in to widening the liver and kept them in for a few days and then he went to surgery again to have the liver drain swapped with a fine wire to keep it open.
"He has a bleed from the wire that turned out to be an aneurysm on the liver, he then had to go to surgery again to have that tied off. A few weeks after some intense treatment we received some great news that the tumours are shrinking and some have completely disappeared. After four months Conall has finally gained outpatient status but even with that he is still in and out of hospital to have his tumours reviewed."
Gerard and three of his friends, will run from the Glen Road, in the west of the city, to Bangor in April, in the hope to raise awareness for cancer in children, and to raise as much money as possible, to give Conall an unforgettable trip.
"I actually don't know Conall or his family," he said.
"I was put in touch with his parents Rachel and Kevin and have been in contact with them, and I wanted to do something for Conall. They are fully on board with this now, and we are so close to our target. I want to raise awareness by doing this too, because no child should have to face cancer alone.
"The run is around 26km, starting at the Glenowen and finished at Bangor seafront. There is four of us doing it, I have roped three of my friends into this, but it is for a brilliant cause, so the more the merrier. Conall is an adorable 6-year-old boy who loves life like all kids do at his age.
"His life was turned upside down last year when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma. A parent's worst fear. I want to raise as much money as possible, and we have been blown away by the support. It's been overwhelming.
"The community has been amazing, and the people of West Belfast have been amazing. They always back good causes and this is a special one at that."
Please click this link to donate to the fundraiser for Conall. You can read more about Hodgkin Lymphoma on this link.
English (United States) ·