Sinéad’s heart of gold

MEET teenager Sinéad Burke, who six months after undergoing open heart surgery embarked on a 200km challenge for the Children’s Heart Centre in Crumlin.

Living in Tallaght with mam Lisa, dad Anthony, older brother Anthony and dog Cooper, Sinéad (17) was born with a congenital heart defect that affects the aortic valve.

The aortic valve helps control the flow of blood from the heart to the rest of the body.

Throughout her childhood, Sinéad, who is a passionate Irish dancer, attended regular check-ups, with the condition manageable until she reached her teens.

“Sinéad is never low on energy, her energy levels are great, she’s more energy than the rest of us,” her mam Lisa told The Echo.

“You’d never think she had a heart defect, but the scans and MRIs showed that [the condition] was deteriorating as she was getting older and the [aortic] valve needed to be replaced.”

In January of this year, Sinéad underwent open heart surgery to replace her aortic valve, and six months down the line took on a fundraising challenge to thank the Children’s Heart Centre in Children’s Hospital Ireland (CHI) at Crumlin.

Initially, Sinéad aimed to walk and cycle 150kms between July 1 and July 31 for the Children’s Heart Centre, but the focused Tallaght Community School student ended up doing 200km – and raising more than €3,300 to date.

Sinéad was joined by a different family member, friend or neighbour on each of her walks and cycles, which took in areas across South Dublin County, including Tymon Park, Corkagh Park and the Weir at Firhouse.

Speaking with The Echo, Sinéad said: “I couldn’t believe how much I’d done, I thought I’d be lucky to get to 150kms.

“I’d like to say thank you to my family, friends and neighbours, who were delighted to help such a good cause.

“The money will make such a huge difference to families.”

Sinéad and her friend Ella Smith from Kilnamanagh have also been growing their hair for the past two years.

In early July, both Sinéad and Ella had 18 inches of their hair cut, which they donated to a charity that makes wigs for children, the Little Princess Trust.

“We’re always proud of Sinead, she’s such a good kid,” mam Lisa said.

“Anything she does, she does whole heartedly.

“She’s very focused and so kind and caring.”

The Burke family wished to thank everybody for their support since Sinéad’s operation in January, friends, family, neighbours and Tallaght Community School.

“We’d like to thank everybody for their support and the staff in the heart centre,” Lisa said.

“They were all fantastic and went above and beyond.

“We were also assigned a nurse who was amazing, she was our rock.”

For further information or to support Sinead’s challenge for the Children’s Heart Centre at Crumlin, visit justgiving.com (Sinead’s 150km in July for Children’s Heart Centre).

Sinéad also tracked her walked and cycled kilometres on her Just Giving page.