Community rallies around young student with brain tumour

The community of Bailieborough is fundraising to support primary school teaching student Alison Fisher (21), who has been diagnosed with a brain tumor.

The Bailieborough native is undergoing Proton Therapy at Essen University Hospital in Germany, a seven-week therapy, which will see her in hospital for Christmas.

Having recently returned home after pre-treatment procedures, Alison will go for treatment in mid-November.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with aftercare and recovery costs by Harris’ SuperValu Owner Lorraine Harris. The fundraiser smashed its €45,000 target within two days of its creation and currently exceeds €76,000.

A separate bucket collection that took place last Thursday and Friday raised almost €2,000.

“The support we’ve got has been phenomenal locally,” said Lorraine speaking on Monday afternoon.

When The Anglo-Celt visited to speak with staff last Thursday, the flurry of lunch time customers had commenced. Amidst checkout bleeps, pink and white balloons attached to buckets with Alison’s photo on them sat on the counter tops. Several customers had already donated to the cause.

Alison’s mother Majella Kierans has worked in the shop for the past 16 years, where Alison also worked part-time alongside her mother.

“She’s part of the family,” Lorraine said, explaining why she set up the fundraiser.

The store owner recalled the day Majella found out her daughter first got ill, two days before she was due to travel to Thailand with her friends.

Just after finishing her third year of primary school teaching, Alison was due to begin her six-week travelling adventure at the beginning of July. Having gone to visit friends in Mullingar, she was waiting for the bus home when she suddenly took ill. Back in Bailieborough, Majella was working her shift when she got a phone call from a paramedic to say that Alison had collapsed.

“They said, are you her Mum? Your daughter’s after collapsing and she's currently taking seizures.

“She was in an awful state,” Lorraine and store manager Laura, remembered.

“There were no signs. Even up to then, she was going out jogging, she was in great form, she was meeting up with friends, really really excited.”

Alison took another seizure in the ambulance and a third when she reached Mullingar Hospital.

“I dropped all,” said Lorraine, who brought Majella to the hospital.

Alison was transferred to Beaumont where she underwent an operation on her skull, during which she was conscious.

“She was so brave.

“We went up to see her and it was hard to believe this was a girl who just went through major surgery.”

After a team meeting in the hospital, Alison’s doctors decided it was “best” that she went to Germany to receive further treatment.

“They just thought where the tumor was located, it would be better; the equipment over there would actually zone in completely.”

Currently undergoing the pre-treatment assessment, the procedure will see Alison in hospital in Germany for Christmas. Knowing that expenses on the family would “build up”, the team at SuperValu decided to fundraise to cover accommodation, travel, food and care expenses for Alison and her family.

“The important thing is that she’s comfortable and that she has no burden on finances for the aftercare.”

Lorraine described Alison as a “really bubbly, lovely girl” who along with her mother is “very well got” in the community.

“She’s really excited about recovery and mad to get back to doing her final year of primary school teaching because she wants to teach young children.”

The staff and management at SuperValu are “blown away” by the support shown to their bucket collection and their online fundraiser so far.

“That’s what the likes of a small community is great for, they come together and they see a fundraiser for something so important to a local girl and her mother.

“It’s not even a question, they just step in.

“It’s like a little family.”

“We’ve had customers over the last few weeks who have missed Majella and they know that Alison was unwell and they wanted to help.”

Lorraine thanked everybody who has helped out so far.

“We’re really, really grateful to everybody on behalf of Alison and Majella for the donations coming in.”

To donate, click here.