Mum seeking help to make every day count for little David

A SKIBBEREEN mum is appealing to the people of West Cork to help her seriously-ill son make the most of every day.

Mary O’Driscoll’s almost five-year old son David was diagnosed with a rare brain condition at the age of two.

Called lissencephaly, there’s no known cure and sadly it means David will never walk or talk and suffers health challenges including epilepsy.

Mary explains: ‘I knew as a mum that something was wrong with David as his development was very slow. After brain and spine scans, he was diagnosed. We have been told he mightn’t live more than 10 years but we just blank that part out and try to take every day as it comes.’

And now to make life easier for David, Mary and his dad Patrick have launched a €20,000 fundraising campaign for a specially adapted car.

‘It was my friend’s idea. Initially I was reluctant as I feared people would judge me but I’m doing this for my son and if I could get a specially adapted car for him myself, I would,’ said the 27-year-old.

David, who attends juniors in St Joseph’s NS in Skibbereen, uses a special buggy from the HSE.

Mary currently drives a Toyota Corolla and David uses a regular car seat. But as he’s growing and getting heavier, it’s getting more difficult to get out and about, especially as he has a busy schedule of physio, speech and language and occupational therapy appointments.

‘I’m calling on the support of West Cork to help me,’ said Mary.

‘No one knows what we’re going through. When you’re a new mum you think about your child taking their first steps and their first words but unfortunately that hasn’t happened. We are grateful for the little steps that he has taken but it’s hard on me and it’s also hard on David as he gets frustrated. The past few years have been very challenging. I’m now thinking of his future and if we had this car we could enjoy family outings.’

She added: ‘You don’t know how strong you are until you’re faced with something like this. Hopefully my community will help us make every day count for David.’

To contribute, see ‘adapted-car-for-david039-s-needs’ on gofundme.com.