Barretstown is very excited to announce the launch of ‘Barretstown Live’ – a new online ...
Med Shed Appeal
"Lucy has been so much more independent since going to Barretstown"
``For Lucy, the Med Shed was a safe place where she could go with whatever her complaint was. She knew there were nurses and children's doctors there who knew what they were doing.`` - Niamh, Lucy's mum.
Meet Lucy MacConnell
When 13-year old Lucy came to camp last summer, she was the first child with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) at Barretstown. Lucy's condition means her bones break extremely easily. To try and stop this from happening, Lucy has metal rods in the main bones of her arms and legs that support her bones. She has to be extremely careful everywhere she goes - or risk painful fractures.
But that didn't stop her from coming to Barretstown. It was the first time Lucy had ever been anywhere without her parents for a whole week, and the first time we had ever welcomed a child with OI to camp. Understandably, Lucy and her mum Niamh, a GP from Galway, had concerns about the extensive care Lucy would need at camp. But we were able to put their minds at rest.
Donate Today``Even though Lucy was the first child with her condition to go to Barretstown, that didn't bother them. I think the Med Shed could handle anything, really. It's essential for families like ours`` - Niamh.
Barretstown Empowered Lucy
With her medical safety guaranteed, Lucy was able to get on with having fun. Lucy had a wonderful time at camp. She was delighted to try canoeing and to sit on a horse, both firsts for this amazing young lady. Activities she never thought she would be able to experience - and Niamh has seen the amazing long-term benefits for her little girl.
'Lucy has been so much more independent since going to Barretstown - everyone has commented on it. She's doing stuff for herself that she wouldn't have done before. She just needed that little nudge.'
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The Magic of the Med Shed
Without the Med Shed, so many campers wouldn't be able to come to Barretstown to experience our life-changing therapeutic camps and programmes. The team of volunteer doctors and nurses make sure they're able to meet our campers' medical needs - so they can relax and have the time of their lives at camp.
It's designed to look nothing like a hospital, so the care feels relaxed and unobtrusive. But crucially, it provides medical care to campers, without which they wouldn't be able to come to Barretstown. We work very closely with CHI at Crumlin and CHI at Temple Street, and most of our campers attend after a referral from these hospitals.
Right now, the Med Shed is more important than ever. With so many children like Lucy at risk of Covid-19, we need to ensure our Med Shed is fully operational, and we won't be able to do that without your help. In the coming year, the impact of Covid-19 is going to cost Barretstown's Med Shed an extra €67,700, in addition to the significant annual costs of running this vital medical facility. These extra costs are a result of equipping and adapting the Med Shed and other facilities at Barretstown to ensure the safety and welfare of our campers, families, volunteers and staff.
Please will you help us meet this urgent target and keep the Med Shed open throughout next year by making a gift today?
DonateFor children like Lucy, our Med Shed is the key to a world of magic. Will you help keep it open, so together we can Press Play on childhood?
The Impact of Your Donation
``When I got cancer, it was very hard for me and my family, but Barretstown made it all so much ...
Please support our emergency appeal today. We urgently need your support to Press Play on childhood ...