Josephine and Mike Fleming presenting the Mater Foundation with a cheque for 3,700 following the Glin Knights Cycling Club charity cycle on 16th July.
Josephine and Mike Fleming, along with their family, presented the Mater Foundation – the official fundraising body of the Mater Hospital – with a cheque for €3,700 following the Glin Knights Cycling Club Charity Cycle on 16th July in Glin. In a heart-warming display of community spirit, the Glin Knights organised an 80km and 120km route to support the Mater Hospital’s Family Heart Screening Clinic, in memory of Mark, Josephine and Mike’s son, who passed away from Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS) in 2014, aged just 24. The Flemings, their family, friends and neighbours have supported the clinic since 2015 when the family attended to be screened for an inherited heart condition.
The Mater Foundation supports the Family Heart Screening Clinic which tests family members of those who have died tragically from a genetic heart problem such as SADS. Each week in Ireland, one person under the age of 35 dies from such an inherited heart condition. Mark, who left behind his son Devon, four brothers and sisters, and his parents, was one of those people.
Tom Hickey, Head of Fundraising for the Mater Foundation said, “Support like this has made it possible for the Family Heart Screening Clinic to test over 7,000 families since it opened in 2007 and it is support from those like the Flemings and the Glin community which will allow the clinic to continue to screen even more families in the future. We are so thankful to the Glin Knights Cycling Club for choosing to fundraise for the clinic.”
The clinic needs €300,000 per year to run its programme and receives very limited government funding, meaning those who give to the Mater Foundation are essentially the first and last line of support. Funds have also led to the appointment of a genetic counsellor as well as nurse specialists. The aim of the clinic is to reduce the incidence of these silent and tragic deaths through a comprehensive screening facility for those most at risk.
“If anyone is interested to learn more about the life-saving work the clinic does or support us to keep it running, please contact the office on 01-8303482 or visit www.materfoundation.ie,” Mr Hickey said.