‘He was on a ventilator for four months’ says mother of boy (4) now thriving at home

Sonny Murphy spent the first eight months of his life in hospital, and was in ICU several times, but he is now breathing independently, and thriving at home with his parents.

The four year old was born with various health difficulties including spina bifida.

“When we found out we were having a little boy, it was pretty amazing,” his mother Karen said. “But that’s the day we found out that he was sick, so we didn’t really get to celebrate it, because we were told the worst. We were told that he wasn’t going to survive.

“They couldn’t see a little part of his brain; his cerebellum. We still knew that he had spina bifida and we knew that he was going to need surgery the day after he was born. But when he was born, he wasn’t breathing. Part of his condition, that little part of his brain that they couldn’t see, had fallen down to where his spinal cord is and had paralysed his vocal cords. So he couldn’t breathe at all,” she added.

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Sonny had an operation on his back soon after birth, but his breathing was still an issue, resulting in him having to remain in intensive care.

"He was about three months old and he got meningitis and that's when things actually took a really bad turn because he was so sick," Ms Murphy added.

“Tracheostomy was the only option. His vocal cords were completely paralysed so they were going to put a tube through and then he would be able to breathe independently.”

Having previously been told that he might have to use the tracheostomy for life, the family were overjoyed when Sonny got it removed unexpectedly in 2018.

“He went down for a scope to check and see if his vocal cords were working. One was slightly working and one wasn’t working at all. And they said: ‘there’s no harm in trying’. They just sat there and took it out and then that was it. He could just breathe, he could just breathe,” Ms Murphy said.

“Since he got the ‘trachy’ out he’s absolutely flying. He’s thriving. Temple Street gave us our boy. They never gave up on him so we never gave up on him.”

Sonny’s parents, who are from Dublin, have shared his story in a bid to raise awareness of the importance of donations to Temple Street Hospital.

“He was on a ventilator for four months; he could have been on one for life. And it would have been there for him. It makes a huge difference, any type of fundraising,” Ms Murphy added.

Denise Fitzgerald, chief executive of Temple Street Foundation, said Sonny is "living proof that your donation matters".

“With your support, the hospital can continue to provide this care to those children who need it most. From vital, life-saving equipment to ground-breaking research – your donations have the power to change little lives for the better.”