Luke's Story
Luke has been a patient of Children's Health Ireland at Temple Street since he was a baby. He was rushed by ambulance to Temple Street when he was just one-day-old.
When Luke was born he was having some issues with feeding, it seemed like the milk was just running out of his nose. The medical team at the hospital did an x-ray and it was quickly discovered that he had a gap in his oesophagus, they inserted a feeding tube and put him on oxygen straight away, he was transferred to Children's Health Ireland at Temple Street the next morning. It was at Temple Street that Luke was diagnosed with a condition called Vacterl association. This can affect many areas of the body, Luke was fortunate as it only affected two areas. He had his first surgery the day he arrived at Temple Street, it took six hours to repair the gap in the oesophagus. .
Since then, Luke has been a regular visitor to Temple Street and over the last 11 years he has had ten surgeries and many stays at the hospital. His Mum Ciara told us what the hospital means to Luke. “He loves all the occasions that are celebrated in the hospital, like Halloween, where the staff make such an effort for the kids. It helps him to forget about all the medical stuff and just enjoy the occasion.
Luke has been involved in lots of events over the years, they have given him and us as a family many memorable moments. He was the mascot for the Irish Rugby team at one stage and got to meet the whole team and the President. He really loved that, it was an amazing day for us all.
He is a huge fan of Brian O’Driscoll and has met him twice. He also was lucky enough to get to turn on the lights at Temple Street one year and was involved in the Christmas FM.
He also got involved in Trick or Treat in 2017, he was dressed as a dragon that year and helped to launch ‘Trick or Treat’ for the Foundation.
Luke now attends both CHI at Crumlin and Temple Street, he is doing great and that is all thanks to the amazing care he received from the wonderful medical team.” Ciara, Luke’s Mum
Trick or Treat
Help support kids like Luke!
2022 means that our Ghoulish Trick or Treat campaign will be 22 years old this year and will once again be proudly supported by MiWadi. Imagine, all those years, our wonderful supporters have been donating to help sick children by doing something they love – dressing up and having a party.
Why not join in the Ghoulish fun and host a Halloween party in your crèche or school, your home or community or you can even have one in your office and raise funds for the sick children in CHI hospitals and urgent care centres at Crumlin, Temple Street, Tallaght and Connolly. Whatever way you do it, you can have some monstrous merriment that will change the lives of children like Luke.
