Special visit from Limerick garda for Little Blue Hero following ankle surgery

A LITTLE girl who has just undergone major surgery received an unexpected but welcome pick-me-up over Easter, even after the Easter bunny had dropped by with some chocolate treats!

Mia Farrell, age five, was pleasantly surprised when her favourite Limerick garda Ollie O’Sullivan turned up at her door to greet her with extra Easter gifts.

Mia, who is from Meanus, was born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. She is a Little Blue Hero, or a “mini garda” as her mother Sarah says, and is part of the charity the Little Blue Heroes Foundation, which Garda O'Sullivan volunteers with.

The Little Blue Heroes Foundation is a not-for-profit charity, operated entirely by volunteers which include gardaí, retired garda members, their families and friends across the country. It aims to help families in need from local communities who have children undergoing long-term medical treatment for serious illnesses.

Spina bifida is a condition which affects the spine at birth and can cause mobility difficulties or paralysis for those who have it.

Mia was born with the most severe form of spina bifida and is paralysed from her ribs down. She recently had ankle surgery in Cappagh Hospital, meaning she now has a cast on each leg and cannot use her wheelchair for eight weeks.

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Her mother Sarah said: “Mia is full time care, but she is such a character and is well able for the craic. She is an amazing person, who, at only five years of age, is going around with a smile on her face 24/7.

“We are telling her she can now wear ‘pretty shoes’ after having her achilles tendons in her ankles cut - she will be able to wear her pretty shoes when healed.

“Kids like Mia don’t have a long [life] expectancy, so when she got accepted into Little Blue Heroes, about 12 months ago, they were absolutely amazing - we can’t even thank them enough for what they do for her.”

Hydrocephalus causes extra fluid in and around the brain, which causes swelling. Affecting one in 1,000 babies worldwide, it is estimated that between 80% and 90% of children with spina bifida develop hydrocephalus.

Sarah says that with the Little Blue Heroes Foundation, they include all the children in the household and “not just the child that’s sick”, such as Mia’s two brothers.

When Garda O'Sullivan arrived unexpectedly on Easter Sunday, he brought colouring books for Mia’s siblings too.

“They think about everything: Easter, birthdays and Christmas time. If we needed money for Mia to go to Dublin and get her surgery, just as she has done, Little Blue Heroes would help us. They make your life happy, they fulfil your life, even though you have a sick child.”

When the child is first set up with the Foundation, they get little garda uniforms and they get assigned certain guards who come out to look after that child and become their best friend.

The charity brought the families together to Mondello Park last year for a night away, where they got to stay in a hotel, which Sarah says “never happens”.

“People just don’t have a clue what goes on behind closed doors, which is very difficult.

“When Ollie called during Easter, it broke him to see Mia in two casts, sitting on the chair with her legs elevated. We are fighting every day of the week, we have to fight for everything.”

Meanwhile, after helping out the Little Blue Heroes, Garda O'Sullivan was back to his day job as a warrants officer in Newcastle West Court on Friday where he executed 20 bench warrants in one sitting. The role is a crucial cog in ensuring the wheels of justice keep turning.

Donations to the Little Blue Heroes “helps kids who don’t get to do what other kids do”, said Sarah, and that all donations are greatly appreciated.