Cork family launches fundraiser as Sarah, 6, faces blindness

Sarah Connery has Wagner’s Syndrome, a rare genetic disease, and undergoes chemotherapy to prevent cancer developing

Thu, 11 May, 2023 - 19:00

Mairead Sheehy

Members of a Cork family are hopeful their GoFundMe page will successfully raise money to help a family member overseas, ensuring their home is correctly modified to cater for their daughter's fading eyesight.

Six-year-old Sarah Connery, who lives in London and whose parents are from Cork and Limerick, has undergone a lifetime of tests and hospital visits throughout her early years.

After an initial diagnosis of Uveitis, a condition which causes inflammation of the eye, Sarah was found to have a rare genetic cancerous disease called Wagner’s Syndrome.

The condition manifests itself in each person differently. In her case it affects her eyesight, detaching her left retina and causing a “build-up of gel” in the back of her right eye, clouding her vision.

To combat her genetic disease and prevent cancer from developing, Sarah is treated with chemotherapy alongside other medications.

Sarah’s family describe her as a “lovely, bubbly child” as they looked back on the day she took her first steps in their Cork home — a memory they will forever cherish.

Sarah Connery, held in arms in the centre of her family group, has since been registered blind.

Sarah’s parents Patrick and Sarah Connery, now based in London, have previously known heartache.

Their son Joseph, aged 4, passed away five years ago as a result of another rare genetic disease.

Sarah’s godmother Aisling Murphy — who lives in Cork — set up the GoFundMe page in an effort to help their family members and alleviate some of their concerns.

“You know, being over here [in Cork], we just felt completely useless, that we just decided that we would set up a GoFundMe just to see if we could support them any way we could," she said.

Sarah has now been registered blind and has received a cane as she awaits her operation next Monday at Great Ormond Street Hospital, in an effort to improve her eyesight.

There is no guarantee that Sarah’s eyesight will be improved by the surgery, but her family remains hopeful her quality of life will improve.

The GoFundMe page, launched last month by Aisling and her mother Catherine O’Brien Murphy, aims to raise a total of €8,000 in order to transform the family's house to accommodate Sarah’s condition.

Some of the necessary modifications involve installing additional lighting, particularly on the staircase, and a shelter in the back garden as Sarah’s chemotherapy dosage leaves her at high risk of sunstroke.

Having raised almost €2,000 towards their target they are hopeful the fundraiser will garner the attention of others willing to help Sarah.

The family is also holding a bake sale from 9am this Sunday, May 14, in Carrigaline band hall, beside the Catholic church.