A year on from the tragic passing of his daughter Sophie (8), well-known Limerick campaigner Liam Mulcahy has organised a charity sportive for this Sunday. It's been a harrowing year for Liam, his wife Stacey and two children Dion, 14 and Kayla, 8.
By Brian Canty
This Sunday marks the first anniversary of the death of Sophie Mulcahy, the eight year-old daughter of Cycle4Sick Children’s charity founder Liam.
Young Sophie passed away following a lifelong battle with terminal illness.
To mark the day, Liam has organised a 70-kilometre sportive with the funds raised all going to Sophie’s Journey Foundation, a charity set up to raise money for other children with severe conditions.
It’s been a harrowing year for Liam, his wife Stacey and their two children, Dion 14, and Kayla, 7. And not a day goes by when Sophie isn’t spoken about in the family.
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“It’s been tough,” said Liam, fresh out of a 6am TRX class in Limerick on Friday.
“Manic was the setting in our lives and the void that Sophie has left is frightening… the lull since her passing is unbelievable.
“It’s the lack of knowing what to do because when Sophie was around we went, we went and we went with her. So adjusting to life without her has been the hardest part.
“If there was a rulebook on grief it’d be great, but we’ve had good support and we’ve always been a tight family, though it’s been rough.”
Sophie’s story captured the imagination of many and her fight for survival was a constant battle and an inspiring against-the-odds story.
Liam with former pro turned writer Paul Kimmage, who supports Sophie's charity and wore its jersey in his TV documentary about the Tour de France.
Sophie was born in 1996 with a hypo-plastic heart condition and was given just days to live.
She underwent six heart operations and spent the first six months of her life on a ventilator in intensive care.
From there her battle intensified when she suffered lung and kidney failure two months later.
She was subsequently diagnosed with a rare condition called 1q43, a genetic disorder.
Little is known about the condition and it is extremely hard to treat. There are only 40 known cases around the world.
Despite the odds against them, Sophie and her family from Rhebogue, Co Limerick teamed up with a legion of followers and went about seeking the best possible care they could in a bid to improve Sophie’s chances of having some quality of life.
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For her short time on this earth, Sophie could not walk or talk, she was fed through a tube and took endless amounts of medication to alleviate her suffering.
Throughout her life she suffered many setbacks, such as renal failure brought about by previous heart surgeries.
She could not undergo a kidney transplant for fear she would not survive the surgery.
She lost her battle for life this time last year, and for Dion and Kayla it’s been especially difficult.
Eddie Dunbar is just one of the rising stars of Irish cycling who will be in Limerick this Sunday for Sophie's sportive - details below (Photo: Sean Rowe)
“It’s been tough for them,” said doting dad Liam.
“When it came to care Dion was on par with ourselves; he had a special bond with her because he was in hospital himself with her when he was five.
“He grew up knowing the operations, the ambulances; he lived through the seizures so she’s a huge loss to him because the bond they had was incredible.
“The pain hasn’t not eased on any of us; there isn’t a day goes by that her name isn’t mentioned.
“We’ve had eight years of up and down to Crumlin Hospital and in and out to the Regional Hospital here and when that’s gone it’s a total readjusting. You have good and bad days.”
Sunday looks like it will fall into the former bracket with a big crowd expected in Kilmallock for the sportive.
Charity patrons Sam Bennett, Eddie Dunbar and David McCarthy are all signed up, as is ex-professional and Rás winner Ciarán Power.
Sign-on is from the Deerbert Hotel in Kilmallock at 8.15 with a 9.15am rollout from there.
The route takes in Bruff - Ballyneety - Roxboro roundabout - Carey's Rd - People's Park - McGettigans and back to Kilmallock via Henry Street - William St - Mulgrave Street.
Find them on Facebook here and Twitter @SophieMulcahy4 for more updates and information.
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