BY CIARAN WOODS
THE LOSS of their daughter led to a Strabane family embarking on a remarkable fundraising mission and walk which raised thousands of pounds for charity. Just 18 months after losing their daughter to cardiac illness and less than 12 months after mother, Blanche, received a quadruple heart bypass, the Gallagher family raised over £4,000 for the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY).
Last February John and Blanche's daughter, Lauren, died suddenly aged just 13 from an undiagnosed heart complaint. Despite the fact that she'd been attending hospitals for several years, the condition was never fully diagnosed. Regular fainting was the common symptom throughout her illness.
"No one, including us, thought that it was life-threatening. She was a happy child, who loved going to school at Strabane Grammar. She was ill in that she often fainted, but no-one believed it was a fatal condition," said Blanche.
Lauren also suffered a number of fits, the intensity of which worsened towards the end recalls her mother.
"The last two episodes were very different though. The second to last one really took a lot out of Lauren, it took a lot out of all of us and it really scared her. They happened in the house and just weren't the same as the others."
Lauren passed away on February 22 last year, and just six months later her mother underwent a quadruple heart bypass. One year on, Blanche decided to do a sponsored walk to raise money for people with similar conditions to her daughter.
After learning about CRY, she discovered that they were organising a sponsored eight kilometre walk in London to mark their annual awareness week. The event consisted of walking around eight of the most famous bridges in London around the River Thames.
"When I learned about what the charity was doing I wanted to do something to help, it was as simple as that. The fundraising had started before we had joined in with Strabane Grammar school raising some money through a charity evening. St Columba's PS Clady also contributed and in total we raised over £4000.
"I never thought we would raise that amount. When we were approaching the £1000 mark we decided to aim for two, but to raise four was beyond all our expectations.
"It is down to the people of Strabane who showed such generosity, I really would like to thank everyone who donated to the appeal. People had obviously heard what we were doing and what the family had gone through. I remember two women calling to my door with £40 and £100 donations. It was moving."
CRY was launched over 10 years ago to raise awareness of the conditions that can lead to sudden and unexplained cardiac death in young people, all of whom were apparently "fit and healthy." The condition of course rocketed to prominence in Tyrone with the sudden death of senior football captain Cormac McAnallen in 2004. The charity is now heavily involved in lobbying for greater access to screening for young people, especially those regularly participating in sporting activities.
"Sometimes you just have to do something and it doesn't matter about anything else. I just had to do it. My husband John and I both walked together and we're really glad we could help. We hope to be able to maintain the link with CRY and if there is anything else to do to help those suffering the same as Lauren then we will," adds Blanche.
