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Irish Family Receive 'Bittersweet' Donation To Daughter's Life Saving Fund

Back in May, Dermot and Dave spoke to Karen Vickers who had received heartbreaking news about her daughter Olivia. Olivia or 'Livie' as she known to Karen and her partner Keith, was born in August 2019 and is on the surface a happy, bubbly and chatty baby. However, Livie has been diagnosed with SMA  (Spinal Muscular Atrophy), type 1. SMA is a rare condition, affecting one in every 10,000 babies and type 1 is the most severe type.  While there is no cure, Karen and Keith are hoping to raise €2 million to receive a specialist treatment in the United States. Since we last spoke to Karen, people around the country, including amazing Today FM listeners have been arranging events and raising thousands of Euro for the campaign. 10-month-old Olivia Mulhern Now, there's been a massive development for Livie and her family which is incredibly bittersweet. This morning, Karen spoke to Dermot and Dave about the news that the parents of a little boy from Laois have made a massive donation. Dan Donoher, who is a little boy from Ballybrittas in Co Laois, also has SMA Type 1 and also requires the treatment which is known as Zolgensma. However, his parents, Niall and Aisling received devastating news over the weekend that he is no longer a candidate for the treatment due to a virus he contracted that created antibodies that render the treatment useless. Niall and Aisling have done something incredibly selfless and have decided to donate €1 million that they have raised towards Dan's treatment to Livie. Karen says that she was left 'speechless' by the news and revealed that they have just over €400,000 left to raise. The earlier Livie can get the treatment, the more beneficial it would be and the better little Livie's life could be. If you'd like to donate, visit the A Better Life for Livie GoFundMe page. [audio mp3="https://media.radiocms.net/uploads/2020/07/02104421/A-BETTER-LIFE-FOR-LIVIE-PODCAST.mp3"][/audio]   see more