Charity fundraiser inspired by Jayden

A group of up to 50 cyclists will undertake a 70-mile charity cycle from Killaloe to Ennis this Saturday in support of a brave Killaloe toddler.
Touched by the story of Jayden Conway, who has already survived major operations including open heart surgery, two Killaloe men, William Byrnes, 33, Millstream and Ben Murphy, 24, of St Flannan’s Road, decided to support ‘Jayden’s Journey’ by donating money from the cycle to Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, where he has spent months receiving various treatments.
In fact, Jayden has spent more than one-third of his 20 months receiving different treatments for Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) in Crumlin and the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick.
Last year, the Killaloe duo raised €4,375 for Aware to help people suffering from depression, when 25 cyclists completed the same round trip.
This year, they are hoping to exceed this figure and, already, specially made sponsored t-shirts have raised €1,200.
The cyclists will travel in convoy with a local Red Cross ambulance and support cars from Killaloe to the outskirts of Ennis at Roslevan, where they will stop at the Grove Restaurant for food and refreshments. After a break of about 30 minutes, it is expected they will return to Killaloe at 6pm.
William Byrnes told ITAL The Clare Champion they are delighted with the response received to date.
“Any additional support for this charity event would be appreciated. All the participants are waiting with anticipation to go ahead with the cycle, which is for a very worthy cause,” he said.
The duo are members of the charity group cycle4sickchildren, which was set up to remove words like ‘obstacles’ and promote words like ‘success’ and help overcome difficulties experienced by children with disabilities.
On Sunday, the two men are heading down to Waterford, where they will represent the charity with other cyclists in the Sean Kelly Challenge.
FSGS is a disease that attacks the kidneys’ filtering system, causing serious scarring, and is one of the many causes of a disease known as Nephrotic Syndrome, which occurs when valuable protein in the blood leaks into the urine.
To date, there is no common effective treatment for FSGS and, barring an unexpected breakthrough, it seems almost certain Jayden will need at least one new kidney.
Jayden weighed 6lb 9oz following his delivery in St Munchin’s Regional Maternity Hospital, Limerick on November 18, 2008. At first, there didn’t appear to be a problem but a heart murmur was detected following a spell in the Intensive Care Unit.
This was the first of countless trips to hospitals and doctors in Limerick and Dublin for his parents Nuala Conway and Charlie Wood.