With Irish pro-golfer Shane Lowry and generous members of the public's help, a two-year-old County Offaly boy is on his way to Chicago for a life-changing surgery.
The Irish golfer Shane Lowry made headlines this week when he donated €10k to a GoFundMe set up for Joey Conway, a two-year-old boy from Tullamore, County Offaly in need of life-saving surgery in the United States. The Conway family, thanks to the generosity of the public and Lowry's call to action have now raised over €330k, reaching their life-changing goal.
The fundraiser was set up by Joey's mother, Natalie. The little boy has numerous health conditions invasive Group A Strep (iGAS) and was diagnosed with Portal Vein Thrombosis (PVT) which led to Non-cirrhotic Portal Hypertension.
On their GoFundMe page, Joey's parents wrote "There is a Meso Rex Shunt/Bypass surgery that can be done for Joey. This surgery is available in Chicago and all in will cost €330,000, where we will have to stay anywhere between 8-12 weeks from pre-op to post-op. It is a 5-hour surgery that connects the superior mesenteric vein to the left portal vein using an internal jugular vein."
Natalie explained "This procedure bypasses the obstruction and restores normal portal flow into the liver. This can restore Joey’s system back to normal function. It would be both life-saving and life-changing and give him his life back.
"We are against the clock because the sooner we get this done for Joey we immediately eliminate the threat to his life of bleeding or another septic event... Without this surgery for Joey, there is a 40 percent risk of death in the first episode of bleeding.
"Without this surgery, he is at risk of a third sepsis episode and nobody knows how the third one would affect his body this time or if he would survive it," Natalie added.
"As parents, we want Joey to go to preschool in September with his cousins, play football with his brother Jordi, dance in the kitchen with his sister Molly, and simply live his best life that we can only hope and dream for if he gets this surgery."
The delighted parents sent a message of thanks to the public who helped them reach their goal:
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