24-hour care for Liam as condition deteriorates

The condition of a young boy who has a rare and usually fatal disease is deteriorating.

Liam Heffernan, 4, underwent pioneering brain surgery in a New York hospital more than a year ago, but his parents have been told it will not cure him.

Tony and Mary Heffernan, of Keel, Castlemaine, Co Kerry, have noted signs that the disease — from which their only other child, five-year-old Saoirse, died last year — is progressing. “Liam has started to show some signs of deterioration, but he has a reasonable quality of life, at the moment,” said Tony.