This article is from page 13 of the 2012-05-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 13 JPG
THERE was joy for the family and friends of baby Sergio O’Connor who came through a gruelling six hour operation in Boston on Saturday.
One year-old Sergio, who is one of a set of twins, had been in America for more than a week waiting for the life saving surgery to reconnect his oesophagus.
Sergio was born on March 5 last with a rare condition which prevents him from eating, drinking or swallowing. Sergio, who before travelling to America had only been released from hospital for a few hours on Christmas day, came through the operations well but is still in an induced coma.
Sergio and his twin brother Tadhg were born into one of North Clare’s best loved traditional music families with his father Donal, his grandmother Ann O’Connor (nee Dillon) and his uncle, the former TG4 Young Musician of the Year, Liam O’Connor, all taking part in countless sessions around the county over the years.
Sergio still has a large number of relatives in Ennistymon and other areas and a large number of fundraising concerts have taken place around the county in recent months, in help in the cost of his life changing surgery.
The youngster went into surgery at 7.30am local time and with surgeons using a rare process known as the Foker treatment, to reconnect his oesophagus. The operation went well but Sergio will remain in an induced coma for another week so that his oesophagus has time to heal up.
Sergio’s family in America say that are “over the moon” with the surgery and are very thankful to the entire team here at the hospital. Sergio will still require other procedures and surgeries in the future but last Saturday’s operation is seen as a key milestone in his recovery.