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Tina McElligott.
TWO events in Tralee and Causeway will take place on Friday, May 26 to help pay for medical help a Kilflynn teenager needs abroad.
The events are being organized by ‘Tina’s Army’ a collection of volunteers who have come together from all walks of life to raise money and awareness of Tina McElligott’s Medical needs and subsequent treatment.
Tina, 16, from Kilflynn is currently in Barcelona for medical treatment. She suffers from Alpers, a degenerative neurological disorder that slowly diminishes a person’s quality of life because of the seizures and the person endures, chronic shaking and everyday pain.
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In order to keep her in Spain for the next three to four months, they need to raise approximately €35,000.
To do this there there will be a Charity Fight Night in McHales Stratford End Bar Causeway where the top WFM fighters have lent their support to the cause – travelling from around the country to fight for Tina on the night with fighters from Kerry, Cork, Mayo, Galway and Carlow in attendance, as well as a DJ.
Tickets for this event are available online at www.tinamcelligott.com or at the door for €10. The first prize for the Fight Night is an apartment in New York for one week free of charge. The venue has been donated by McHales for the event.
In Tralee, The KY Comedy Alternative are running a Comedy Night in the Abbey Inn with top comedians performing on the night.
This event is free to enter, and donations can be made via the comedy club on the night. All proceeds for both events will go directly to the Tina McElligott Treatment Fund.
Since Tina’s story went public, €8,000 has been raised from online donations.
Sending Tina to Spain three weeks ago cost €2,500, and to stay in the apartment just outside Barcelona in Salou is €1,200 a month, this is outside of eating, and travel expenses.
Staying in Spain is ‘hard some days’ according to Tina’s mom Mags, as they ‘have the sun, the moon and the stars but we miss everyone’, but they know based on her response to treatment, it is the best place for her.
She is now ‘much brighter’, ‘more talkative’, and much more like a 16 year old should be. The doctors in Spain are maintaining contact with her Irish Medical Team and they hope, with help, she can continue the treatment she needs abroad.
