Ballyea rallies to help child with rare disorder

THE community of Ballyea have come together in a bid to raise funds to help a local six-year-old with a rare genetic disorder.
Little Eimear Power, who attends Ballyea National School, was diagnosed with a chromosomal abnormality when she was two-and-a-half.
It is hoped that money raised from a greyhound night at Limerick Greyhound Stadium this Friday will allow Eimear access therapies that would lead to a better quality of life for her.
Eimear’s mother Teresa, the family, husband, Gerry, and their two other daughters, have been “overwhelmed” with the support Eimear has received from the local community.
She explained her daughter’s condition is very rare, with the initial signs there when she was just a few hours old.
Teresa recalled, “When she was born, within 24 hours there were things wrong but nobody could tell us the cause until she was two-and-a-half and the geneticist in Crumlin gave us a diagnosis. Her condition is very rare. There were children out there with similar conditions at that stage, but none the exact same as Eimear.”
Eimear is in senior infants in Ballyea National School, where she has a special needs assistant. Staff at the school have also learned Lámh sign language, used for special needs children, to help her communicate.
The fundraising began when Sinéad Dillon, a childcare assistant in the Ballyea community pre-school, which Eimear had previously attended, decided to set up a committee to raise money for her.
“Sinéad was emphatic. she wanted to do something and she’s been doing Trojan work by setting up the committee with parents from Ballyea. She asked us what we felt would be important for Eimear. She has different requirements, she has a physical component, a medical component and an intellectual disability so all activities in the day are affected by her condition. We said we wanted to do something that would help her advance in the home, in social settings and in school.”
Eimear will have to be further assessed to find out which therapy and specialist equipment would suit her but Teresa is hopeful that advanced neurodevelopmental therapy, sensory integration therapy, using touch, and auditory processing therapy, using sound, could benefit her daughter greatly.
“Eimear is very sensory-orientated, she wants to touch everything and examine it, that’s how she processes things in her daily life. From what we know of it, sensory integration therapy would be very, very helpful. She responds well to music so we think the auditory processing would help her focus and learn. The advanced neurodevelopmental therapy would be something for further down the line.
“The money raised from this fundraiser will provide us with the opportunity to access these therapies and hopefully it will bring Eimear along. This is about whatever we can do to bring her to another level and to bring out the best of her abilities. Whatever the fundraiser brings, we hope it would just help to bring Eimear forward.”
It is also hoped that a special chair can be bought from funds raised for Eimear to use in school. She already has a chair in her classroom but another is needed for the resource room. Teresa has nothing but praise for everybody at Ballyea National School.
“Eimear loves going to school. when she sees her uniform, she is really happy. She is so well integrated into the school, everybody has really embraced her and they are so accommodating. Ballyea National School have been a tremendous support in facilitating this fundraiser and there will be consultation with the school regarding any equipment or therapy Eimear will be doing a result of this fundraiser.”
Teresa said she has been amazed by the support she and her family have received.
“My husband is from the area but I’m from Athlone originally and I really feel we are being integrated into the community. This fundraiser is a real community effort. We have been overwhelmed by the good will and the support and input from Sinéad and the committee and from everybody within the community. From friends, family, people I would vaguely know, the whole spirit of good will and people supporting us has left us totally gobsmacked at the whole thing. We’re just so grateful that people can be so kind and generous and supportive in the times that we are in. We’re totally blown away by it.”
If anybody would like to make a donation to the Eimear Power fundraiser, they can do so at the Ulster Bank, account number 11522462 sort code 98 56 80.