The father of a County Cavan boy who needs life-saving treatment for a rare immune disorder has said he is "proud to be from Cavan" after local people donated over €50,000 towards a GoFundMe page for his son. Ethan Tierney is 22 months old and was recently diagnosed with Hyper IGM Syndrome. If the toddler is to go on to live a full and healthy life, he must travel to Newcastle in the UK for chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant and stem cell therapy.
His parents, Jacqui and David Tierney and Ethan's four siblings will also have to re-locate to Newcastle for the six to eight months it will take for Ethan to undergo the treatment necessary to save his life. The Tierney family estimate it will cost in the region of €60,000 to make the move. As a result, Ethan's aunt set up a GoFundMe page called "Baby Ethan's fight with Hyper IGM Syndrome", which, to date has raised almost €53,000 from the goodwill of many local people.
David Tierney said he and Jacqui are overwhelmed with the generosity and kindness the people of Cavan and beyond have shown their family. "It's quite humbling to see what Cavan people and Dublin people have done for us," an emotional David told Northern Sound, "As I said, our family, our friends, my neighbours from home - I'm originally from Virginia and living in Drumgore - it's just been phenomenal. The support we have received, like in our darkest hour, our family, our friends, our community have just wrapped around us." To donate search "Baby Ethan's fight against Hyper IGM Syndrome" on GoFundMe.
