(My son) Kyle's Wish to Walk

[Bigal]

Those videos on facebook are utterly amazing and inspriational.

 

Go on Kyle

[cymrococh]

Those videos on facebook are utterly amazing and inspriational.

 

Go on Kyle

They really are, as is the amount of effort Rory and his family are putting in to raise this money.

[Murphman]

They really are, as is the amount of effort Rory and his family are putting in to raise this money.

 

I was saying just such before logging on to here, inspirational, plus I've hardly seen a photo of Kyle where he isn't smiling.

[Bigal]

Its just totally amazing from all.

[Rory Fitzgerald]

Firstly, thanks lads, just logged in to see your comments, we are driving this forward. Secondly........

 

A few weeks ago, I tweeted Jamie Carragher asking if he would agree to meet us with Kyle for a photo and to sign a jersey. Its the kind of thing thats a Hail Mary effort but you never know. Anyway, within minutes, he agreed to it. As Janine’s sister lives in Liverpool, we were flexible on the weekend as we knew we had a place to stay. 

 

So, he suggested noon at Anfield on the day of the Man City game as Sky go to air about 1.30pm for the earlier game between Southampton and Chelsea. Brilliant !! Time, date and venue boxed off. To get over there I booked an 8am ferry for the day beforehand to Holyhead at 8am and a 6pm return on Sunday which was the Swift boat. This was the only sailing that allowed me stay in Liverpool past noon on the Sunday and still be able to drive to Holyhead for the boat. 

 

So we’re all on the car ferry on Saturday morning heading over. We’d been up since 5am to make Dublin Port for 7am. We’re all relaxing after the rush. The TVs on the boat have SkySports on and it so happens Jamie Carragher is on the show. Well this is nice, I’ll watch a bit of this - just don’t slip and break your ankle Jamie lad when you go outside and take a shot at the end of the show. 

 

*Buzz* - I check my phone. It’s an email from Irish Ferries. The Sunday 6pm Swift boat is cancelled due to bad weather and that we’d be accommodated on the earlier 2.10pm sailing on the car ferry. Noooo, this kills my timeline. I’d need to leave Liverpool at 11am to make that boat. I’m dead. I can't meet Carra at noon at Anfield. I keep my counsel and decide not to tell the family anything. We're on the boat so its not like we can cancel this. 

 

I go for Hail Mary Play #2. I send Carra tweet whilst I am watching him on SoccerAM "Jamie....in a sticky situation....cant do tomorrow as boat cancelled.....I know you are in London today, but will you be in Liverpool later and have 5mins". I pray he checks his phone after the show, sees my text, decides not to ignore, decides to respond to it and actually has the goodwill to accomodate me.

 

We reach Holyhead and drive towards Liverpool, the family in blissful ignorance of the situation. I message John Gibbons who has said he can make contact with Carra if he needs me to. I had pre-agreed to meet Gibbo that weekend. It's 1.15pm and my phone hasnt seen a charger since 5am and down to 50%. I have to resist the urge to keep hitting refresh on my Twitter. 

 

Hallelujah - a message from @Carra23 - I am travelling back up on the train and can meet you at Lime Street at 3.20pm or early tomorrow morning. Wow, bloody brilliant. I text him back to say thanks and tell him we'll do our best to meet him at Lime Street so we dont ask him to go out of his way....but.....we may not get there in time as there are massive traffic disruptions in Liverpool with The Giants on that weekend.

 

"Fancy meeting Jamie Carragher today" I say to Janine, hoping she buys into it so I dont have to explain myself

"No, we said we'd spend the day with Erika [Janine's sister] and Naoise [Erika's partner]" she says

"But we could do it quickly today and have the rest "of the day and dont have to stress tomorrow" I come back with

"No, tomorrow is fine, Erika is expecting us today

"Errrr, well you see" - so I tell her what happened

 

We're good for 3.20pm at Lime Street. We park the car and start walking towards it. Just as we get into view of it (at 3pm) I wonder where we meet him and how we do it without having members of the public photo-bombing it and trying to grab a word with him. I pull my phone out of my pocket - 27% left - and plan on tweeting Carra to say we've made it but wonder where is best to meet him. As I turn the phone screen on it says "Message from @Carra23" - this cannot be good. "Sorry, not getting off at Lime Street, The Giants are on and I'll never get out of the City".

 

In sheer despair I say nothing and just show Janine the phone. We've been up since 5am, had our boat cancelled for the next day, our meeting with Carra is dead on Sunday and now our meeting is dead on Saturday. The kids are tired and hungry and this has killed us.

 

Hail Mary #3 - "Big ask.....been on the road and seas since 5am....any chance we can meet at a park near your house for 5mins.....we'll drive towards you"

@Carra23 "Stick this into your satnav and let me know when you get there, I'll be available after 4.30pm"

 

With 2 disappointments behind us that day and our energy level low, we wonder if this is worth still doing. Its about a 40min drive to the location meaning 40mins back. Thats another 1.5hrs we are looking at on the road and its Saturday later afternoon. We have to go for it

 

We drive up, with Janine's sister and partner. The satnav tells us when we get "there" and its not a park. Its a very nice residential area with big gates everywhere 

"Lads, he's bloody brought us to his house  !!! Right, everyone out of the car and get Kyle's t-shirts on. I'll tell him we are here"

 

@Carra23 "Be out in a min"

@Carra23 "You here ??"

 

No, you are joking me, we are bloody there but we cant see him. Whats going on. This is the disappointment I feared. There was only one hope. There was a curve in the road near us so I run down to the curve hoping Jamie is just around it. 

 

Hallelujah - he is about 100m away and waving at me. With the line of sight, he can see me and I can see him. I can see my crew and they can see me but Carra cannot see them. All he sees is me giving it the big swinging arm to say "Lets go, he's here"

 

I run down to him and start thanking him. "How many have you got coming mate" he laughs (probably nervously). I tell him its just my family and sister in law that is putting us up that night in Liverpool. 

 

He sees them, Kyle and our t-shirts and waves us into the property. He hits the button on his fob and the gates close behind us.

 

I take over, I know this is his place but I know what works best with Kyle

"Kyle is a bit shy around strangers so we'll coax him out of his shell and when he is smiling we'll dart around the back of the wheelchair and get a good picture with him smiling. We'll do it quick so we dont put you out"

"No no no, dont worry, is this Kyle, hi Kyle, are ye alright" - Kyle's head sinks to his chest, he is shy.

Carra continues on "Let me get you something" and races into his house.

 

We're now alone and we look at each other. Bloody hell, his HOUSE. What a guy. I thought he would meet in a carpark or park.

Carra races out with a jersey. Its a 2005 memorabilia shirt with the line ups of both teams embroided into it in gold letters. He signs it and puts it across Kyle's chest.

 

"Here you go Kyle, do you like that....do you like computer games, do you play Fortnite, do you play Roblox" - Kyle's head spring up smiling. He's engaging, he loves it. Right, quick, lets get these photo's done. 

 

Brilliant. Done. Cheers man, can you just sign these home and away jerseys we brought over and we'll be done. No problem he says.

 

"I'll tell you what, gimme one of those t-shirts and we do a group shot and you take photos on my phone and I'll upload to my social media"

 

 

WTF !!! Brilliant, yeah man, I decide to take the pictures because and miss out on the group shot but I dont care, this has gone above and beyond my expectations.

 

All done, great, thanks Carra, lets get out of here

"Come here, we get a quick shot with both of us while I'm wearing the t-shirt"

 

 

Brilliant stuff. I dont see the footballer anymore on TV, just a high profile guy that lent some time and effort to give us a nice experience. Unfortunately we were so shot that we had to get back to Erika's place and feed that kids that I missed on out meeting Gibbo. But I'll try get over again soon man !

 

Edited October 19, 2018 by Rory Fitzgerald

[fildo]

Class!

[Stanley Leisure]

Late to this, but just donated, Rory. All the best to you and the family.

[Rory Fitzgerald]

Cheers Phil thanks for that 

[Hassony]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Firstly, thanks lads, just logged in to see your comments, we are driving this forward. Secondly........

 

A few weeks ago, I tweeted Jamie Carragher asking if he would agree to meet us with Kyle for a photo and to sign a jersey. Its the kind of thing thats a Hail Mary effort but you never know. Anyway, within minutes, he agreed to it. As Janine’s sister lives in Liverpool, we were flexible on the weekend as we knew we had a place to stay.

 

So, he suggested noon at Anfield on the day of the Man City game as Sky go to air about 1.30pm for the earlier game between Southampton and Chelsea. Brilliant !! Time, date and venue boxed off. To get over there I booked an 8am ferry for the day beforehand to Holyhead at 8am and a 6pm return on Sunday which was the Swift boat. This was the only sailing that allowed me stay in Liverpool past noon on the Sunday and still be able to drive to Holyhead for the boat.

 

So we’re all on the car ferry on Saturday morning heading over. We’d been up since 5am to make Dublin Port for 7am. We’re all relaxing after the rush. The TVs on the boat have SkySports on and it so happens Jamie Carragher is on the show. Well this is nice, I’ll watch a bit of this - just don’t slip and break your ankle Jamie lad when you go outside and take a shot at the end of the show.

 

*Buzz* - I check my phone. It’s an email from Irish Ferries. The Sunday 6pm Swift boat is cancelled due to bad weather and that we’d be accommodated on the earlier 2.10pm sailing on the car ferry. Noooo, this kills my timeline. I’d need to leave Liverpool at 11am to make that boat. I’m dead. I can't meet Carra at noon at Anfield. I keep my counsel and decide not to tell the family anything. We're on the boat so its not like we can cancel this.

 

I go for Hail Mary Play #2. I send Carra tweet whilst I am watching him on SoccerAM "Jamie....in a sticky situation....cant do tomorrow as boat cancelled.....I know you are in London today, but will you be in Liverpool later and have 5mins". I pray he checks his phone after the show, sees my text, decides not to ignore, decides to respond to it and actually has the goodwill to accomodate me.

 

We reach Holyhead and drive towards Liverpool, the family in blissful ignorance of the situation. I message John Gibbons who has said he can make contact with Carra if he needs me to. I had pre-agreed to meet Gibbo that weekend. It's 1.15pm and my phone hasnt seen a charger since 5am and down to 50%. I have to resist the urge to keep hitting refresh on my Twitter.

 

Hallelujah - a message from @Carra23 - I am travelling back up on the train and can meet you at Lime Street at 3.20pm or early tomorrow morning. Wow, bloody brilliant. I text him back to say thanks and tell him we'll do our best to meet him at Lime Street so we dont ask him to go out of his way....but.....we may not get there in time as there are massive traffic disruptions in Liverpool with The Giants on that weekend.

 

"Fancy meeting Jamie Carragher today" I say to Janine, hoping she buys into it so I dont have to explain myself

"No, we said we'd spend the day with Erika [Janine's sister] and Naoise [Erika's partner]" she says

"But we could do it quickly today and have the rest "of the day and dont have to stress tomorrow" I come back with

"No, tomorrow is fine, Erika is expecting us today

"Errrr, well you see" - so I tell her what happened

 

We're good for 3.20pm at Lime Street. We park the car and start walking towards it. Just as we get into view of it (at 3pm) I wonder where we meet him and how we do it without having members of the public photo-bombing it and trying to grab a word with him. I pull my phone out of my pocket - 27% left - and plan on tweeting Carra to say we've made it but wonder where is best to meet him. As I turn the phone screen on it says "Message from @Carra23" - this cannot be good. "Sorry, not getting off at Lime Street, The Giants are on and I'll never get out of the City".

 

In sheer despair I say nothing and just show Janine the phone. We've been up since 5am, had our boat cancelled for the next day, our meeting with Carra is dead on Sunday and now our meeting is dead on Saturday. The kids are tired and hungry and this has killed us.

 

Hail Mary #3 - "Big ask.....been on the road and seas since 5am....any chance we can meet at a park near your house for 5mins.....we'll drive towards you"

@Carra23 "Stick this into your satnav and let me know when you get there, I'll be available after 4.30pm"

 

With 2 disappointments behind us that day and our energy level low, we wonder if this is worth still doing. Its about a 40min drive to the location meaning 40mins back. Thats another 1.5hrs we are looking at on the road and its Saturday later afternoon. We have to go for it

 

We drive up, with Janine's sister and partner. The satnav tells us when we get "there" and its not a park. Its a very nice residential area with big gates everywhere

"Lads, he's bloody brought us to his house !!! Right, everyone out of the car and get Kyle's t-shirts on. I'll tell him we are here"

 

@Carra23 "Be out in a min"

@Carra23 "You here ??"

 

No, you are joking me, we are bloody there but we cant see him. Whats going on. This is the disappointment I feared. There was only one hope. There was a curve in the road near us so I run down to the curve hoping Jamie is just around it.

 

Hallelujah - he is about 100m away and waving at me. With the line of sight, he can see me and I can see him. I can see my crew and they can see me but Carra cannot see them. All he sees is me giving it the big swinging arm to say "Lets go, he's here"

 

I run down to him and start thanking him. "How many have you got coming mate" he laughs (probably nervously). I tell him its just my family and sister in law that is putting us up that night in Liverpool.

 

He sees them, Kyle and our t-shirts and waves us into the property. He hits the button on his fob and the gates close behind us.

 

I take over, I know this is his place but I know what works best with Kyle

"Kyle is a bit shy around strangers so we'll coax him out of his shell and when he is smiling we'll dart around the back of the wheelchair and get a good picture with him smiling. We'll do it quick so we dont put you out"

"No no no, dont worry, is this Kyle, hi Kyle, are ye alright" - Kyle's head sinks to his chest, he is shy.

Carra continues on "Let me get you something" and races into his house.

 

We're now alone and we look at each other. Bloody hell, his HOUSE. What a guy. I thought he would meet in a carpark or park.

Carra races out with a jersey. Its a 2005 memorabilia shirt with the line ups of both teams embroided into it in gold letters. He signs it and puts it across Kyle's chest.

 

"Here you go Kyle, do you like that....do you like computer games, do you play Fortnite, do you play Roblox" - Kyle's head spring up smiling. He's engaging, he loves it. Right, quick, lets get these photo's done.

 

Brilliant. Done. Cheers man, can you just sign these home and away jerseys we brought over and we'll be done. No problem he says.

 

"I'll tell you what, gimme one of those t-shirts and we do a group shot and you take photos on my phone and I'll upload to my social media"

 

 

WTF !!! Brilliant, yeah man, I decide to take the pictures because and miss out on the group shot but I dont care, this has gone above and beyond my expectations.

 

All done, great, thanks Carra, lets get out of here

"Come here, we get a quick shot with both of us while I'm wearing the t-shirt"

 

 

Brilliant stuff. I dont see the footballer anymore on TV, just a high profile guy that lent some time and effort to give us a nice experience. Unfortunately we were so shot that we had to get back to Erika's place and feed that kids that I missed on out meeting Gibbo. But I'll try get over again soon man !

 

Class

 

Keep up the good work Rory

[doug_mac]

Great stuff rory

 

Fair play to carra lovely of him to meet you all

[kop205]

Played Rory and played Carra

[Rory Fitzgerald]

Thanks guys for the words of support. You'll never know how nice it is to see that and thanks to those that donate but I can't reconcile their real me back to their YNWA handle but I assume the Sterling donations are from here cause they're not from anyone else I’d know.

 

I feel a different person to be honest. It's a huge weight of responsibility to get him this surgery and I'm doing things that, otherwise I'd be conscious might look embarrassing, but I feel empowered/emboldened to just get out there and do my best for him.

 

If I get more LFC players involved I'll be back in with the story

Edited October 21, 2018 by Rory Fitzgerald

[Rory Fitzgerald]

 

 

Right, we managed to get him in the Irish Mirror. 

https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/health-news/irish-boy-kyle-fitzgerald-cerebral-13510344

 

Is there anyone on here that could help with the last paragraph ? Its a Hail Mary ask putting it in here but you never know who you guys know

 

"Rory said the next big fundraiser is to get Kyle’s school friends at St Mary’s in Ashbourne into a recording studio to record a version of Katrina And The Waves classic Walking On Sunshine. He added: “The family are asking if any of Ireland’s top musical artists could make a small video recording wishing the little boys and girls the best of luck recording their debut No1 single for Kyle". The video can then be added to the music video.

Edited October 31, 2018 by Rory Fitzgerald

[doug_mac]

Great stuff Rory

 

Nicky byrne (westlife) has a radio show on RTÉ 2fm. I know he’s not really a musical artist but it’s a national radio station and if you

 

Could get some publicity from his show it would be nationwide. He has kids around the same age as Kyle so would have some

 

empathy with you. Worth giving him and his show a bell on Twitter

[Rory Fitzgerald]

Cheers Doug, I'm doing 98FM tomorrow morning. They said I should be on around 10.45am

[cymrococh]

Have you tried contacting Blindboy from the Rubberbandits? He's got a massive social media profile and is a great lad.

[charlie clown]

Great to see this all picking up some momentum, Rory. Really pleased for you all.

[Rory Fitzgerald]

Cheers guys. It’s so intense, my phone is non-stop and I’ve a full time job too.

 

Cymro, I thought about what you suggested and then thought of Brendan OCarroll as we’ve both lived in Finglas and Ashbourne so trying to appeal to the “local” angle for his help

[Rory Fitzgerald]

A couple of GBP donations came in, were some of you listening to it on an App ? If you were thanks.

 

Anyway, here is the interview - its about 6-7mins long- I was a wreck doing it ha ha ha, thought I was going to die on air from nerves.

 

https://www.98fm.com/podcasts/Dublin_Talks/98FMs_Dublin_Talks/71594/This_Little_Boy_Needs_100_Grand_Op_To_Walk_For_1st_Time

Edited November 2, 2018 by Rory Fitzgerald

[doug_mac]

Heard it this morning

 

well done Rory

[Rory Fitzgerald]

Cheers Doug, I was a mess before it with nerves 

[Stanley Leisure]

Asked a couple of comedian mates to tweet the link, Rory - hope it gets you some more donations.

[Rory Fitzgerald]

Thanks alot man love that kind of consideration, cheers.

[Bigal]

Asked a couple of comedian mates to tweet the link, Rory - hope it gets you some more donations.

 

sadly, one of them is Kahnee

[Rory Fitzgerald]

https://www.todayfm.com/The-Ian-Dempsey-Breakfast-Show/listen-back

 

Look for the show Tuesday 13th November

 

I’m on during the first 10mins, I think somewhere around 3-6mins

 

I’ll post the whole song thing with the kids in the next 2 weeks. It’ll be awesome I reckon.