Cork teen waiting 15 years for hip surgery to meet Taoiseach over €300k treatment battle

After 15 years waiting for surgery, Cork teenager Katie Byrne will meet Taoiseach Micheál Martin in her €300k care battle

Antoinette Burke with her 18-year-old daughter Katie Byrne. Picture: David Creedon

A Cork teenager who has been waiting 15 years for hip surgery is preparing to plead her case to the Taoiseach following a personal request from him for a private meeting.

It comes just days after Antoinette Burke confronted Taoiseach Micheál Martin on behalf of her daughter Katie Byrne at a Fianna Fáil think-in on Monday. 

The mother of five highlighted her daughter’s health issues, which include what she describes as “a retroverted pelvis and twister femur". 

Ms Burke claims that, had the 18-year-old been given the chance to undergo an operation as a child, she would not be suffering with the health complications she has today. This lack of surgical intervention, she claims, means Katie is now in need of a hip replacement. 

The family is consequently raising funds to avail of the operation in the US at a cost of €300,000. Katie, who will be joined by her mother at the private meeting with the Taoiseach on Saturday, said they are not getting their hopes up just yet.

“I feel like it’s definitely progress, but at the same time I’m trying not to get my hopes up,” Katie told the Irish Examiner. 

“Meeting the Taoiseach isn’t something you do on a daily basis, but this is not something I planned. The Taoiseach is obviously going to have his questions and make his points. I’ll do my best to listen to him and understand his perspective.” 

The teenager said she and her mum will keep the fight going for as long as they can.

“Now that this has happened, we’re not going to back down. There is a lot of coverage of this story at the moment, but inevitably that’s going to die down. Even when that happens, we’re not going to go quiet. As far as we are concerned, this is just a starting point.”

Katie opened up about the pride she felt after her mother confronted Micheál Martin.

“I am so proud of my mum. She has a way of playing things down and making out that things are not a big deal. She’s been trying her hardest for the longest time. In all that time, she has never stopped fighting for me.” 

Antoinette said they are happy to finally be making some progress.

Antoinette Burke (right), mother of Katie, confronts Taoiseach Micheál Martin (left) outside the Fianna Fail's parliamentary party annual think-in at the Rochestown Park Hotel in Co Cork. Katie opened up about the pride she felt after her mother confronted the Taoiseach. Photo: Noel Sweeney/PA

“I sent him an email before he phoned me,” Antoinette said of the Taoiseach. “I wanted to appeal to him as a parent and not as a politician. He apologised that it has got to the extent that it has.” 

Leader of Sinn Féin, Mary Lou McDonald referred to Katie Byrne’s case in the Dáil in recent days, prompting a response from the Taoiseach.

“Obviously, any parent wants to do the best for their child. It seems to me that the interaction and engagement between the clinical decision making and the position of parents is one that has to be improved.” 

Some €300,000 will be needed to fund Katie’s travel costs, medical treatment, and expenses at the Paley Orthopedic and Spine Institute in Florida, US.