THE family and friends of a North Belfast teen with complex medical needs have launched a campaign to send him to London to receive specialist treatment.
Pearse Campbell-Quinn (18) is from the New Lodge area of North Belfast and was diagnosed with epilepsy and cerebral palsy at 15 months. His mother Aisling Campbell has been his full-time carer since, describing her only son as her “whole world”.
“I have cared for Pearse every day his whole life, I am not going to give up fighting for him now,” she said.
Last February Pearse contracted an aggressive form of the spine condition scoliosis and the curve in his back has been deteriorating to the point where it is now badly affecting his quality of life.
Now the hope is that funds can be raised to send him to a London clinic for class-leading treatment. And the target sum of £15,000 is coming within reach.
Aisling said: “In February Pearse went for a scan and had a perfectly straight spine and only a few months later we discovered that he had developed a 58 degree bend.”
Latest scan results show that the curve is now at 74 degrees and has started to press on his right lung, and if left untreated could damage other organs and threaten his life. A GoFundMe page has been made to raise money for Pearse to fly to London for treatment at the Kingston Scoliosis Clinic.
It’s hoped he will be fitted with a brace and receive a 3D scan and rehabilitation treatments. The family is aiming to raise £15,000 to cover the costs of travel, consultation, scan, brace and physio.
Pearse, who attends Glenveagh school, has been undergoing intensive Neurological Rehabilitation Therapy at Craniaa Neuro Rehab Centre, the only centre in Ireland to treat complex neurological disorders in children.Pearse has been offered an appointment in London on April 8 – which also happens to be his mother’s birthday. Aisling said it would be: “The best birthday present anyone could get.”
She added: “He’s the reason I get up every morning and the reason I have a smile on my face. He’s my everything and I would do anything to raise the money to get to London. I am overwhelmed with all the donations and the response from local people and local businesses.”
Pearse is a massive boxing fan, and was thrilled when North Belfast boxing legend Carl Frampton and his wife Christine donated £3,000 to the GoFundMe page.
The boxer's personal trainer also donated £1,500 and the family received an anonymous donation of £2,000 from someone in Liverpool, the home of Pearse's beloved football team, Liverpool FC.
There will be a fundraiser on April 3 to raise money for the treatment in London and aftercare.
You can Google gofundme get pearse to london if you’d like to help. https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-pearse-get-to-london-for-his-treatment
