When Ali Byrne was born nearly seven years ago, she was a perfectly healthy little girl. All her normal check-ups were fine, and her mum, Bernadene, describes her daughter as being a force of nature at the time.
Then, suddenly, at 13 months of age everything changed. Little Ali was diagnosed with a devastating form of epilepsy and experienced seizures that left her with mental and physical disabilities. She can’t move anymore and has lost her speech. She needs 24 hour care.
Little Ali has been a patient in the Neurology Department in Temple Street since she was just 18 months old. But despite having an illness for which there is no cure, her family are determined that their little girl will live life to the absolute fullest. To celebrate the limited time they have together, Ali’s sisters, Elisa and Thea, and her mum and dad, PJ, created Ali's Bucket List - a list of wonderful experiences that Ali can enjoy and memories that they will treasure for the future.
From visiting Disneyland and horse riding to driving with Daddy and sending a message in a bottle, Ali’s Bucket List contains the things that Bernadene and PJ did as kids – activities and memories that they cherish so dearly.
They’ve ticked off surfing and watching the sunrise on a beach, enjoyed Afternoon Tea, went trick-or-treating, and Ali had a very emotional dance with her dad.
However, there is one very important activity on her list that will help thousands of other children like her – to raise money for Temple Street’s new Neurology and Renal Outpatients Department.
Paediatric Neurology is one of the hospital’s major specialties; the expert care in this unit is a life-line for children all over Ireland. Over 4000 children attend this department every year for disorders such as meningitis, stroke and brain tumours.
This Christmas, can you help make this wonderful wish come true for Ali and her family, and for thousands of very ill children all across Ireland?
Click here to donate.
