The fundraising campaign for Erin Laughton has achieved more than a tenth of its target in one week.
THE fundraising campaign for Erin Laughton has achieved more than a tenth of its target in one week.
Our page 1 story last week detailing how Baltimore-based Erin’s mother Karen had set up a crowd-funding page because her son was not getting the medical attention he needed, gathered steam within days.
In just a few hours, several people had contributed to Erin’s Go Fund Me page, and by today, it had raised €1,090 of a target of €10,000.
Last week Karen explained how 12 year-old son Erin had been waiting for over two years for an MRI in Dublin. She said he had deteriorated hugely in recent years, and had been denied tuition from the Department of Education.
Karen explained that Erin’s speech impairment means he struggles significantly expressing himself. He has no friends and finds social interaction difficult and any unfamiliar person, or place, can cause extreme anxiety. This is the reason he has not been in school since last May.
He has been denied home tuition from Department of Education and spends all of his days at home. Erin also has epilepsy and suffers from seizures.
His story was picked up by a number of national newspapers and radio stations after our story last week, prompting Karen to thank everyone for their support.
On Erin’s page Karen wrote that she is constantly being asked why she resorted to crowd-funding. ‘My answer is always the same. Because I am desperate and have hit rock bottom looking for help for my child. No one seems to care and I cannot watch him regress any more. This is my son’s life and he deserves more. Thank you to all of you who are supporting Erin … with all of my heart x.’