Rhode man’s unique walk in memory of his late father
Offaly man Gary Farrell, who suffers from scoliosis, will walk from Dublin to Rhode in memory of his late father next month.
On July 19 and July 20, Gary will begin walking 86km from the Mater to his family home in Rhode while carrying his late father's oxygen bottle on his back. “I’ll be doing this in memory of my father but also for all those with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) and for the fantastic Heart and Lung Ward in The Mater.”
Gary, who is the founder of Scoliosis Ireland and suffers from Scheuermann's Disease, a form of scoliosis, hopes to raise €5,000 for the Mater hospital.
He chose the hospital as the beneficiary because his dad Peadar received treatment there until his death just five weeks ago.
Peadar had IPF, a condition in which the lungs become scarred and breathing becomes increasingly difficult.
He relied on additional oxygen and was on a lung transplant list but unfortunately a donor did not become available on time and he passed away.
Gary said his father “had been looked after in The Mater for the last couple of years and he was up there for four weeks before he passed away.”
He was very familiar with the staff and nurses up there and they gave him great care before he passed away,” he added.
He continued: “I thought he would get a donor in time when he was in the hospital but the Mater are getting the benefit out of it now.”
The local man has been training for the 86 kilometre trek for the past three weeks and is receiving advice from a nutritionist and physiotherapist.
He is also being sponsored by healthy meal prep company 'NutriQuick .'
The distance of the walk is the equivalent of two back-to-back marathons.
According to Gary, he has received amazing support in his fundraising endeavours so far comedians Stevo Timothy and Fabu D offering their support for 'Peadar's Walk.'
“I have some fantastic support. The reaction has been incredible so far, we're about 40% there with the donations already.”
Gary is the son of Mary Farrell from Rhode and the late Peadar Farrell from Edenderry.
Donations to the fundraiser currently amount to €2,157 and further donations can be made to Gary's fundraiser, 'Peadar's Walk' at justgiving.com.