'We're absolutely overwhelmed': Almost €30k raised for Limerick girl as family cope with cancer diagnosis

HUNDREDS of kind-hearted souls have donated to the GoFundMe page of eight-year-old Amelia Murphy, who was recently diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.

At time of writing on Tuesday, July 15, over €28,600 has been raised to help Amelia and her family as they navigate through the "overwhelming shock” of her diagnosis.

The fundraising page was first set up on Saturday, July 12, with the aim of collecting donations to “help ease the strain” of the financial impact of Amelia’s treatment, as both her parents have stepped back from work to care for their child.

Amelia, who has just finished first class at Monaleen National School, is now undergoing an intensive treatment plan at Crumlin Children’s Hospital, which requires frequent travel, extended hospital stays, and major life adjustments.

Despite the hardships they’re currently facing, Amelia’s mother Caroline was full of gratitude and praise for the support the family has received from the community around them.

She told Limerick Live that when the mother of Amelia’s best friend suggested creating a fundraising page, she thought that it would be great to even get just a small sum that would help “cover the mortgage payments”.

The initial goal was set at €10,000 on Saturday. This Tuesday, almost €30,000 has been raised.

“I never dreamed it would ever, ever go to this level. It’s just crazy,” Caroline said. “We're absolutely overwhelmed. We're gobsmacked by the support and everything that everyone is doing for us right now.”

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The GoFundMe page has been circulated far and wide, with country music singer Nathan Carter, of whom Amelia’s mother and grandmother are huge fans, sharing it on his social media pages.

Monaleen GAA Club, Monaleen School Parents Association and Hot Country TV have also circulated the page on their social media accounts.

Amelia was first diagnosed with leukaemia on June 5, and has been up and down to Crumlin Children’s Hospital ever since.

Her parents first brought her to the doctor when she had a fever that she couldn’t seem to shake. The fever went down after taking prescribed antibiotics, but when she returned from her Irish dancing class with pale skin and bluish lips, her parents brought her to University Hospital Limerick, where she received the diagnosis.

Caroline described how their world turned upside down in an instant: “We were just a normal family going to work every day, boring, mundane, Monday to Friday, everything very predictable. And now all of a sudden we've got a situation where we have to pull back from work and we have to get our child through cancer treatment.”

“You wish you didn't have to be at the receiving end of all this love and support,” she continued, “but when the chips are down and you're in this situation and then you see how everybody runs around to do whatever they can for you, it's just mind blowing.”

“We're in complete shock every time we see the GoFundMe page, we're breaking down crying because it's like, oh my gosh, people are working hard and paying bills. They've got their own lives, they've got all their own financial commitments, and they are contributing so much money to help us to get through the next two and a half years.

“There's no words really that can express the gratitude that we have.”

Amelia’s GoFundMe donations page can be found here.