Rallying around little Tadhg

Stars from the world of sport as well as members of their local community have launched a fundraising campaign to help the parents of two-year-old Tadhg Carroll who was diagnosed with Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood (AHC), a condition that effects only six or seven people in Ireland. As Doon couple John and Edel Carroll come to terms with their son's condition the local community have gathered to help and just yesterday a massive fundraising cycle was launched with help from paralympian Mark Rohan, Offaly hurling star Johnny Dooley and the Sunday Game's Michael Duignan in order to provide financial assistance for Tadhg's needs into the future. Speaking to the Offaly Independent this week pipe fitter John (42) described the effect local efforts are having on himself and his wife of five years Edel (nee Egan). "Everyone is helping us out; they're brilliant," he said. "The concern has lifted our hearts no end." At the time of Tadhg's birth on June 11, 2010 John said there were no signs of their son being anything other than a "fine, healthy baby". "By all accounts everything was perfect." However at approximately six months old Tadhg began to show signs of his condition that was originally diagnosed as epilepsy. "About six months we noticed his eyes being kind of disorientated just for a minute," John remembered. A trip to the doctor didn't shed any light on Tadhg's symptoms, so when he suffered a longer episode some two months later that included a loss of power in his body John and Edel took him to hospital. Visits to Ballinsloe, Crumlin and Temple Street hospitals followed, and just at the beginning of this year a neurologist diagnosed Tadhg as suffering from AHC. Now Tadhg has approximately two episodes each month, but John said he usually has a mini-episode at least one day in every week when he could lose power up to three times in the day. John and Edel can't predict the nature of future episodes, nor indeed what Tadhg's future holds, as every sufferer is affected differently. The couple met up with other AHC-affected families in Ireland three months ago, and while they heard what could transpire there are no guarantees. "We actually really don't know what to expect because every child is different," John said. He said a severe level will see a sufferer being unable to walk, having trouble talking and even needing a dialysis machine. Other sufferers may just have slurred speech when tired. "We asked the neurologist what level Tadhg is at but he really doesn't know," John said. While Tadhg's future needs are as yet uncertain, local efforts are hoping fund raised will mean he'll want for nothing. The fundraising centres around a 100km cycle beginning and ending in Doon on August 4, with 200 cyclists including John himself taking part. "You could be knocked down by bikes in Doon," he laughed, explaining that serious training is now underway locally. The August fundraiser was launched yesterday. Anyone interested in getting involved with the cycle or making offline donations should contact Kieran Rigney on 087 2407462, Padraig Boland on 087 9155394, Eugene Boland on 087 0601712 or Vinny Claffey on 087 2855826. Online donations to the cause can be made by logging on to http://www.mycharity.ie/charity/friendsofahc/.