BY MARK MCKELVEY
WHEN Billy Caldwell and his family board their flight for America on Sunday morning, it will be with fear and trepidation but with an underlying feeling of hope.
Throughout the past three months, since the UlsterHerald first started the Billy's Ray of Hope campaign on June 7, Billy's mother Charlotte has refused to think beyond the next day, as every minute of Billy's life is precious. He has defied medical opinion to date, as according to doctors in the Royal Victoria Hospital he should have died last September. One year on he is still fighting for life, with many describing him as "a little miracle".
It has taken ten months of hard work, spending many a sleepless night researching the Internet searching for a life-line, which Charlotte eventually found in America.
Shockingly, due to bureaucratic obstacles it then took eight months to collect all of Billy's medical records from the local hospitals to be able to send to America to be assessed to offer this "ray of hope".
Charlotte conveyed that she can barely believe that finally this work and effort is coming to fruition.
"With Billy's condition, it is hard to look too far into the future," said Charlotte.
"We have been concentrating each day on all the fundraising efforts. I can't believe the time has now come for us to leave for America.
"I am extremely nervous as by this time next week doctors may have decided to operate on Billy which is always a risk and a worry, but this is his chance of survival that we have been fighting for."
The American doctors have answered Billy's families call for help, but at a cost. Since June, fundraising efforts have helped raise £115,000 of the £250,000 needed, while consultants have refused to give Billy the referral letter he needs for treatment in America that will provide funding.
Thankfully as such a large proportion of the total has been raised, the Chicago Hospital is willing to go ahead with whatever treatment is necessary with a payment plan to pay the deficit later.
This emphasises the importance of the fundraising efforts to continue. Billy may no longer be in Omagh, he may no longer be attending charity functions, but that is no excuse for the campaign to stop. Until the total is raised Billy will not have a proper rehabilitation when he returns.
It is essential that he gets speech therapy and regular physio treatment so his brain is able to learn and develop and hopefully reverse the damage caused by the severe drug treatment he has been subjected to for too long.
