‘We’re praying for Grace (10) and praying for her recovery’
AN ONLINE fundraiser has been set up for a 10-year-old Kilnamanagh girl who suffered a sudden brain bleed in January and has remained in Temple Street Children’s Hospital since then.
Grace Donegan, who is in fourth class in St Kevin’s Girls’ National School, was practicing with her gymnastics club on January 30 last when she suddenly collapsed and was transported to hospital.
She was initially brought to Children’s Health Ireland Crumlin before being transferred to Temple Street after a brain bleed caused by an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) was discovered.
Doctors believe that Grace was born with AVM, which is a tangle of blood vessels in the brain that disrupts the transportation of oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the brain, but it wasn’t apparent until she collapsed, and she is now on a long road to recovery.
She was in a coma for a week after her recovery, and is now awake and cognitive but has no mobility on her right side and is using a wheelchair.
Sharon O’Neill, who is a friend of the Donegans and whose daughter, Taylor, is one of Grace’s best friends, set up a fundraiser for the family and told The Echo about Grace’s positive attitude.
Grace Donegan still remains in Temple Street Children’s Hospital. Grace is seen here playing for Kilnamanagh
“In the last six weeks, Grace has had such a positive attitude – she always has a smile on her face,” she said.
“She’s the bubbliest child you’d ever come across.
“She has a great attitude and she’s very sporty.
Grace in summer last year watching the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Kilnamanagh
“She plays camogie for St Kevin’s Kilian’s, football for Kilnamanagh AFC, gymnastics in Old Bawn and dancing.
“She’s in a youth club in the resource centre in Kilnamanagh.
“She was such an active kid up to this incident, and that’s the sad thing about it.
“She wasn’t sick that day, she went to school, went to gymnastics and there was absolutely nothing wrong with her…now she has a long road of recovery ahead.”
Grace will be in Temple Street for the foreseeable future and is currently undergoing physiotherapy and speech and language therapy.
She will also have to undergo radiation therapy in a bid to shrink the AVM, but it could take between three to five years for it to shrink.
Grace’s parents Eddie and Linda, who works as a guidance counsellor in Kingswood Community College, haven’t left Grace’s side since she was admitted to hospital.
Their two sons, Evan, 15, and Luke, 13, are being looked after by their grandmother while their parents have not been able to return to work since Grace became ill.
This led Sharon and other friends of the Donegans, namely Jennifer Dempsey, Elaine Keogh, and Tanya Sheridan, to create a GoFundMe, to alleviate the financial burden that the parents are under so they can continue to make Grace’s recovery their top priority.
The money raised will also be used to adapt the family home in Kilnamanagh for when Grace can return.
“It’s a different world for Grace at the moment,” added Sharon.
“She was given a wheelchair last week, and she will be in Temple Street for the foreseeable future.
“The doctors do reckon that by summer she should be moved to the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dun Laoghaire and I suppose we’ll have to wait and see what happens there.”
Since the GoFundMe was set up last week, over €60,000 has been raised for the Donegans and Sharon said that Grace and her family are grateful for the support they’ve received.
“I saw [Grace’s mam] Linda last week and she was very emotional,” said Sharon.
“She’s overwhelmed by the support of the Kilnamanagh community and everyone who donated.
“She said to me that she felt like at a time when she needed to be held, she felt held by everyone – she was very grateful for the support.”
She added: “We’re praying for Grace and praying for her recovery, but her spirit has gotten her through it – she’s a strong-willed child.”
Donations continue to accepted on the GoFundMe page for Grace and her family. Visit the fundraiser HERE.
