Friday, February 10, 2012
The father of a three-year-old boy, set to undergo pioneering "bionic ear" surgery to cure deafness, has been overwhelmed by the generosity of Vita Cortex workers who diverted cash raised for them to the child’s fund.
Andrew Geary plans to travel to the Kinsale Road factory in Cork next week with his son, Calum, to thank the laid-off staff who are continuing a sit-in over redundancy payments.
Jim Power, who represents the Vita Cortex committee said a planned fundraiser for the workers tomorrow will now be used to benefit Calum who will undergo the pioneering treatment on Feb 28, in Manchester.
"Some people had organised the gig with Tony Stevens at the St Finbarr’s Hurling and Football Club for us which starts at 8pm on Saturday. We saw that young fella’s plight and said he needed the money more than us," Mr Power said.
"We were thinking there were people worse off than us and we can’t believe the amount of support we have received from all over Cork City and county so we decided to do something for him instead."
Mr Geary said: "It’s just unreal that they would do this in the face of their own hardship. It shows a huge sense of generosity and selfness."
The HSE has agreed to fund the €60,000 operation but the Geary family, who live in Ballyhooly, Co Cork, will need to secure an additional €110,000 for post-operative care for Calum over the next three years.
The auditory brainstem implant operation involves implanting electrodes into his brain which would then be connected to miniature hearing aids.
Calum will be the first Irish child to undergo the operation.
* Anybody wishing to donate, should send money to Ulster Bank Fermoy, sort code 985725 and account number 10516017.
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