Belle of the ball

Niamh Casserly is much like any other two and a half year-old girl; she loves sitting at her toy dressing table and brushing her hair, she loves her dogs and their new puppies and is just learning to put her favourite words into short sentences.But Niamh has also shown bravery far, far beyond her tender age as she has just finished another round of chemotherapy which she has been getting for a year now at Crumlin hospital in Dublin.In February 2008, Niamh was diagnosed with a rare condition which meant that tumours had grown on both her brain and her spine which have since left her unable to walk unaided. Having trouble with her breathing first led her to doctors in Mullingar who noticed that she also held her head to one side. On further investigation Niamh"s condition was discovered.Described as a 'tonic' by Jack and Jill nurse Cathy Keighery who was paying a visit to Niamh"s home at Brownstown in Delvin last week, she is despite her condition, exactly that. Niamh is also waiting for Sheelagh or 'She-She' to arrive. Sheelagh is a carer from Mullingar who helps Niamh and her mum every Wednesday. Niamh loves She-She and undoubtedly she brings a smile to her carer"s face in the same way that she does to everyone else"s.Dressed as Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Niamh and her mum Caroline Masterson 'had a ball' at the recent Jack and Jill fun day held in Dublin and along with parents of sick children from across the country were able to shake off their cares for a day and just relax.'It was like no one had a care in the world,' said Caroline whose own bravery has obviously rubbed off on her beloved daughter. 'Just to have one day away and forget about things was fantastic. Sometimes when you are at home you can get very stressed out but no one was stressed at the fun day, it was just brilliant.'Jack and Jill, established in 1997 by Jonathan Irwin, provide help and support to children from birth to age four who have severe neurological conditions which are life-limiting.'Sometimes people say to me "I haven"t heard of Jack and Jill" and that"s okay because we don"t always shout about the organisation from the rooftops but there is I would say a Jack and Jill child in every town in Ireland it"s just that people don"t always know about it,' said Cathy Keighery whose work covers the length and breadth of the country along with nine other foundation nurses.'What we do is provide respite care, which Niamh is not currently in need of and we do a lot of advocacy work on benefits and entitlements and that sort of thing.'Jonathan Irwin started the foundation after his son died. Jack stopped breathing after he was born and suffered severe brain damage as a consequence. 'At the time the family was told that caring for Jack would be too difficult and they were advised to put him into full time care. Obviously that didn"t happen and Jack lived with his parents for two and a half years before he passed away.'Currently Jack and Jill are providing care for 42 families across Ireland and are now than ever in need of fund raising support to help them continue the vital work that they do. Running costs currently stand a €3 million a year.Support from Jack and Jill is vital for families such as Claire, Niamh and dad Micheal who is a native of Delvin. 'You just can"t plan anything from day to day,' said Claire.'The support I have had from Jack and Jill has been amazing. There are so many things that I wouldn"t have known but know because of the help that I have had.'I am lucky because I live with mum and dad whose is originally from Dublin since they moved back here from Birmingham where I was born. Micheal"s parents are also fantastic and I can always rely on them for help.'I am also constantly amazed by how kind people are here. Last year people organised a fund raiser for Niamh in The Hurler"s Rest and the amount of people that came, honest to God, I just couldn"t believe it. Mam and Dad can"t go anywhere but people stop them and ask about Niamh.'To give help to a child like Niamh via the Jack and Jill foundation is really very simple.If you have an old mobile phone, a charger, old DVDs, CDs or a host of other electrical goods, you can send them in and the money raised from recycling will go a very long way.Every year €1 million of the foundations income is made up from the money raised by recycling phones. For more information of how your unused items can make a huge difference to a child"s life or on how to help with ongoing fundraising log onto www.jackandjill.ie or ring headquarters in Naas on 0353 45 894538660.