Offaly twins fundraise for two charities

A GoFundMe page set up on behalf of five-year-old twins, Mia and Ellie Doyle of Clareen, has, in a week, raised over €3,000 of their €4,000 target for Crumlin Children’s Hospital and A Bear Named Buttony.

Alison, the girls’ mother, explained to the Offaly Independent that Mia was born with a chronic illness that has affected all parts of her little life so far.

She has been treated on several occasions in different hospitals over the past five years and has been very unwell at times. She has been treated with a lot of medications that, unfortunately, have not worked for her.

Before Christmas, Mia’s surgeons decided that she needed an ACE stoma. During their research into this procedure Alison and her husband, Michael who is a health care worker, came across the amazing charity, A Bear Named Buttony.

This charity supports children and young people who require a stoma. They give the children a gift of a bear with a stoma and a book and for young adults, a wash bag full of non-medical items to help them adjust to life with a stoma.

They also provide positive support for parents and have an active Facebook page where parents can get support from other parents who have had similar experiences.

So, before Mia’s surgery she received her very own Buttony bear whom she called Popsy and Popsy had her own ACE stoma so Mia could see what it would look like. She underwent surgery on February 4, Popsy at her side throughout.

Alison said the stoma nurses in Crumlin Hospital – Mary, Stephanie and Linto – were amazing throughout this journey. “Only for them, we probably wouldn’t have got it done yet as with bed shortages we kept getting cancelled and I was on the phone about 10 times a day to them, they were brilliant,” Alison declared.

Alison’s parents, Paddy and Geraldine Delaney, who live beside them in Clareen, have been stalwarts throughout, helping with hospital appointments and looking after Ellie. “Only for them we’d be lost”, she remarked.

Ellie and Mia decided that they would like to help other boys and girls who might need a stoma and they wanted to raise as much money as possible for Crumlin Children’s Hospital and A Bear Named Buttony. On their behalf, their parents Alison and Michael have set up this GoFundMe page and they are overwhelmed at the response to date.

The girls’ school, Seir Kieran’s NS, has rowed in behind the campaign and is holding a “casual day” in aid of the GoFundMe. Alison paid tribute to the girls’ teacher, Ms Murphy, and the principal, Jonathan Dunne, for their support.

“We just want to raise as much as possible and we thank everyone who has donated”, Alison stated. The page is entitled 'help Mia and Ellie raise money for charity' and it can be found here.