Latest: Cork teenager raised €100k for life-saving operation in the US
A teenager with a terminal brain tumour looks set to go undergo potentially life-saving surgery in the US after his Go Fund me page raised close to €40,000 in less than twenty-four hours.
Aaron McMahon from Shanagarry, Co Cork has been informed by doctors that there is no more that can be done for him in Ireland. The sports-loving seventeen-year-old wants to do his Leaving Certificate and to go on to train in woodwork. He previously travelled to Germany for proton treatment.
Now a neurosurgeon in the US has said that he can attempt to remove the tumour but Aaron needs the operation to be fully funded €100,000 by April 30.
He reached his target fund shortly after 7pm this evening.
Earlier: Cork teenager pleads for life-saving operation in the US
A teenager with a terminal brain tumour needs to raise €100,000 by the end of the month to pay for potentially life saving surgery under the guidance of expert neurosurgeons in the States.
Aaron McMahon from Shanagarry, Co Cork has been told that there is no more that can be done for him in Ireland. The sports loving 17 year old wants to do his Leaving Certificate and to go on to train in woodwork.
He has previously travelled to Germany for proton treatment. Now a neurosurgeon in the US has said that he can attempt to remove the tumour but he needs the operation to be fully funded by April 30th.
Aaron says that he just wants a chance at life.
"It is not hard to stay positive. If I feel sorry for myself I will be upset all the time. I have got to keep smiling and laughing. I find a lot of things funny. I feel like I am always tired. I feel run down. There is good and bad days.
The amount of support I am getting off (friends). The rugby lads, the GAA lads, the soccer lads, they are always there and messaging me."
Aaron posted a message on his own Facebook page about his need to go to America. Over €70,000 has been raised on his Go Fund Me page since it was set up last week. He told Red FM that he wants
the operation "sooner rather than later."
"I am not giving up. (When this is over) I will go back to my old life in sport. When the operation is over and I get my check up I will be going straight back in to the gym. The Leaving Cert and college is the drive. I would like to do something to do with woodwork."
Aaron said the illness has changed him in that he now "needs to talk". He said he was a quiet lad and joked he had to learn how to communicate.
He told show host, Neil Prendeville, that he finds it hard to sleep at night.
"I don't want to close my eyes because I could wake up one day blind or not even wake up. We have been told I could be gone in one day. We have no time. The doctors have told us we have no time."
His father, Paul, said they were hugely thankful for the contribution of the public since they launched the Go Fund Me page five days ago.
"I want to say to everyone in Cork, Munster and we have gone global. 1,589 families have helped us. Thank you very much. There is 1,589 donations and there is a family behind every donation. We are two thirds of the way there. We are nearly there. Aaron has a smile across his face."
It is understood that Aaron first spotted his reoccurring headaches in 2013 and they got progressively worse by 2016. He was diagnosed with a brain tumour and had surgery in Beaumont Hospital before going to Germany for Proton treatment.
Earlier this year he noticed he had eye problems again and the family were told that his condition was terminal. If he can raise the funds his operation in the US will go ahead in the summer.
Aaron is 6'1 in height and is the youngest of three brothers. He is fighting a cancerous brain tumour called Chordoma.
Chordome is a rare type of cancer that occurs in the bones of the skill base and spine. It is part of a group of malignant bone and soft tissue tumours called sarcoma and is diagnosed in just one million people per year.
Specialist neurosurgeons in the US have had some success with patients with Aaron's condition.
For more information or to donate, visit gofundme.com/aaronmcmahon
