THE KILKENNY girl who travelled to London for life-saving surgery in September, is to receive a National Child of Courage award later this week.
Jamie Murphy (11) will travel to Limerick with family members on Saturday to attend the annual Dream Ball hosted by the charity, Share a Dream Foundation.
The annual awards are presented to children who have “a life-threatening illness, disability or chronic disease” and who have shown “tremendous courage and bravery despite their suffering”.
The case of Jamie, who was born with spina bifida and is confined to a wheelchair, generated considerable publicity and was raised in the Dáil earlier this year.
Her family claimed that she had been denied urgent treatment at Crumlin children’s hospital because of budget cutbacks.
They said she needed surgery urgently because her life was threatened by severe and deteriorating scoliosis (a curved spine) which was crushing vital bodily organs, badly affecting her breathing and restricting her ability to eat.
They arranged for Jamie to see a private consultant in London who agreed to treat her. Parents Emer and Peter Murphy, who were both unemployed, faced huge bills and fundraising efforts were getting under way in their home town of Graiguenamanagh, Co Kilkenny.
However, an anonymous benefactor, who had read media reports about the case, contacted a local TD, the Green Party’s Mary White, and offered to pay the costs.
The complex surgery was carried out at Great Ormond Street Hospital in early September. Yesterday, her aunt Tríona O’Brien said “Jamie is doing brilliantly” and has made significant progress.
Her niece, who weighed just 16kg (35lb) before the operation, has “ finally started to put on weight”, her breathing has improved and her height has increased by 5 inches.
Ms O’Brien added: “When we watch her now, she is completely full of life as opposed to just three months ago when she seemed to be struggling to stay alive and seemed to be slipping away from us a little bit each day.”
Referring to the anonymous benefactor, she said the family was very grateful “for the actions of one exceptional person with a big heart”. She thanked “friends and strangers” for their prayers and support.