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Kieran Donaghy with little Chloe Jenkins, her mom Deborah O’Connor and dad Gareth Jenkins at their home in Cork last week.
THE family of a little girl who needs urgent treatment to battle an aggressive cancer have thanked a Kerry GAA legend for his kindness.
On Thursday last, September 12, Kieran Donaghy paid a visit to the Cork home of little Chloe Jenkins who is currently battling Neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive child cancer.
The purpose of Kieran Donaghy’s visit was to first of all meet Chloe and her parents after the Kerry great made an initial call for the public’s help to raise funds for the ‘Chloe’s Journey’ GoFundMe page via a video appeal on social media just over two weeks ago.
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Kieran also wanted to launch a further video appeal by asking all sports fans and indeed the public at large to make the minimum GoFundMe donation of just €5 to help Chloe receive the care and treatment that she needs.
Kieran also announced that he would be donating his own Sky Sports TV appearance fee for the replay weekend directly to Chloe’s Journey.
Mum Deborah (from Killorglin) said: “It was just so wonderful of Kieran to take the time to come and visit Chloe and to spend time with her. Chloe took to Kieran right away and within minutes she was showing him her toys.
He threw himself down on the floor beside her & just made such a fuss of her – she absolutely loved seeing him and it gave us such a lift to have him here. I just want to thank him for everything he has done.”
Kieran’s visit was particularly timely as Chloe’s parents had just received the news from Crumlin Children’s Hospital that surgery was to be scheduled for later this week.
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Chloe’s tumour is wrapped around many vital organs and major blood vessels. Her surgery comes with a whole host of complications.
Chloe’s left kidney and possible her spleen will have to be removed and the surgeons will do what they can after that to remove as much of the cancer as possible. It all depends on how long Chloe can stay under anaesthetic.
Dad Gareth (from Dublin) added: “We were over the moon to welcome Kieran and for him to meet Chloe in person. He was so brilliant with his time and with Chloe, the two of them even had a game of hide and seek! Kieran has shown great compassion for Chloe and for what she’s going through in her battle against Neuroblastoma – we really can’t thank him enough for all his efforts and for his own amazing gesture to help Chloe.”
Kieran stated: “I was just so moved by the battle that Chloe is facing that I wanted to help. As a parent myself, I can’t imagine what Gareth and Deborah are going through. Chloe is such a wonderful little child, so full of fun and with a laugh that is absolutely contagious. It’s obvious to me that while she may be small, she is a warrior – despite what she’s going through she still has the biggest smile, she is an inspiration.
I wanted to help launch the fundraising appeal and raise awareness. Once again, I’d just like to call on the public at large to help if they can at all, by making the minimum GoFundMe donation of just€5 to Chloe’s Journey. It only takes 2 minutes to donate online but the difference your donation will make will be huge.”
Further information on Chloe’s Journey can be found at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/dhqrw-chloes-journey. All video appeals featuring Kieran Donaghy can be viewed in full at Chloe’s Journey Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/chloesjourney2019/
