Katie was just 6 years old, when her Mum Ciara, found a small lump in the side of her tummy one night.
The lump wasn’t sore and Katie had no other symptoms, so the diagnosis of cancer – a Wilms Tumour in Katies kidney - came as a complete shock for Ciara and Tom, Katies stepdad.
Just over a week later, Katie started chemotherapy.
Thrown headlong into an exhausting journey of appointments and surgeries and hospitals and specialists.
Treatments that left Katie looking absolutely exhausted, as fragile as Ciara and Toms own broken hearts.
Life itself was put on hold.
With the med shed on site fully stocked and equipped to look after Katie and anything she needed, she could really immerse herself freely into life at camp.
Through our therapeutic recreation programmes, Katie finally felt back in control after months of being defined by her diagnosis. Ciara watched her self esteem grow and saw a shift from ‘sick patient’ to child at play. Ciara told us it’s a memory she’ll treasure as long as she lives.
Katies Mum Ciara saw firsthand the change in Katie from being at camp. Read in her own words the transformative effect it had on her and their family in her letter.
Ciaras Letter 💚You Can Make a Difference for Children like Katie Donate Today
``No child should have to go through what our Katie did. So for you to give to Barretstown so children with serious illness can have those happy memories and forget what they’ve been through or what might be ahead of them – just to be a child again – that gift you give, it’s priceless`` - Ciara, Katies Mum