Mother selling home to fund son’s operation after HSE pulls funding

A young mother, who travelled to Italy for pioneering surgery on her deaf son’s hearing, said she will have to sell her house after the HSE pulled the plug on funding for the operation.

Josh Butler, 2, of Midleton, Co Cork was born deaf and was selected for an auditory brain stem implant by a prominent surgeon in Italy.

Josh’s mother Chloe Walsh said that the HSE referred her toddler to Italy for the €76,000 surgery. They reportedly agreed to pay for it only to pull the plug on funds at the last minute.