Little T.J. Cunningham may live in Dublin, but his many relatives and family friends in Fermoy are thinking of him and, more than that, are rooting for him as he continues to make progress after major brain surgery in the US.

Two-year-old T.J. suffers from a rare and severe form of epilepsy. Born perfectly healthy in May 2011, he was a normal baby until, at 13 months old, he had his first seizure. Before surgery he was having up to 100 seizures a day. He had his first surgery at the Detroit Children's Medical Centre on March 7th, followed by a second operation a week later. The hospital is considered one of the best in the world in the treatment of infantile spasms, such as what T.J. suffered from.

The surgeries resulted in most of the right side of his brain being removed. His neurologist and surgeon are optimistic that he will regain lost abilities such as walking, talking, sitting and communicating and he has every chance of a normal childhood with time and ongoing therapy.

LOCAL CONNECTIONS

Little T.J.'s surgery in America has left his parents, Tony and Leah, who live in Tallaght, with medical bills of €160,000. Because of their connections with Fermoy, where T.J.'s grandfather Jed Kenneally was born and reared and where his great-grandmother Mary Kenneally lives in the family home at Castlehyde, it was decided to support the fund 'T.J.'s Epilepsy Journey' by holding a fundraiser locally.

A musical evening was decided upon. It'll take place at the Elbow Lane Inn in Fermoy on Saturday, May 18th from 9pm. Heading the bill is Cork's well known blues rock band Tres Hombres and playing support to them is singer-songwriter Shane Power. Some fine raffle prizes will hopefully tempt people to give further support to the event.

All are invited along on the night to enjoy the music and the gathering, while supporting this worthwhile cause. T.J.'s epilepsy journey can be followed online on YouTube and Facebook.

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