Katie's Story

April 11, 2023

My name is Katie Byrne. I am 16 years old, and I have cerebral palsy. I also have a dysplastic hip, twisted femur

and pelvis and a fracture in my pelvis. I was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of 17 months, and it was

first noticed that my hip was dysplastic (dislocated) at the age of 4. I attend mainstream school and I am doing

my junior cert this year.

For years my mam Antoinette has fought my corner to give me the best life I could ask for but that came with

a lot of challenges. From the age of 2 I have gone through hours and hours of physiotherapy, going to the gym,

gone through 2 surgeries, 3 wheelchairs, 3 walkers and more crutches than I care to remember but I’m still

standing.

When I was 6 years old, I travelled to st louis children’s hospital in Missouri to undergo Selective dorsal

rhizotomy surgery (SDR) that got me out of my wheelchair and up walking independently for the 1 st time in my

life at the age of 7. This was only possible because people from all over Ireland and the world donated to the

fundraising drive my mum and dad set up at the time. They had to raise €60,000 to get me SDR and muscle

lengthening surgery which gave me the opportunity to be a lot more independent than I was when I was

confined to my wheelchair.

I had so much more freedom to do things that would never have been possible if I didn’t go for SDR but

because of my dysplastic hip my legs are starting to deteriorate and I am slowly becoming more dependent on

my crutches and my wheelchair. This is something I really don’t want to happen as I will be restricted again on

being able to do the things I want to do in my life. I don’t want to have to depend on everyone to have to care

for me.

For years I have been told that I am too weak to have surgery here in Ireland so again my mum looked

elsewhere to see if she could get me the help I need and find a doctor who will operate on me. My mum and I

travelled to the Paley institute in Poland on December 5 th 2022 to see Dr Paley who has said he can help me

with my dysplastic hip. He can operate on my hip and pelvis and put everything back the way it’s supposed to

be. We must travel to the Paley Institute in Florida and stay there for approx. 6 weeks for this surgery as it is

such a complexed surgery Dr Paley wants to be on hand should any issues arise following my surgery. The cost

of this surgery, physiotherapy, equipment, travel and living expenses for 6 weeks while we are in Florida and

physiotherapy on my return to Ireland is coming in at a price of €300,000.

There is no way on this earth my mum can afford to pay outright for this surgery so again we have to fundraise

to get to Florida and pay for all the other expenses I’ve listed above.

You can contact my mum Antoinette on the Facebook link below should you wish to have anything clarified.

You can find out more information about me and my life at

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter.

My kindest regards

Katie Byrne.