Ellie's parents '˜humbled' by generosity of local public

Stephen and Joanne McAuley from Dunclug said they were ‘truly humbled’ by the prompt and generous response of the Ballymena public to their ‘just giving page’ which aims to raise funds to help cover the costs of enabling them to stay with her during the operation and its aftermath.

Stephen said: “Ellie was born with Downs Syndrome and several serious cogenital heart defects that have meant she has already had four operations in her 19 months of life.

“She is currently waiting on a date for a major open heart surgery in London and this is expected in the next couple of months.

“This fundraising will go towards the expenses incurred by us in being with her every step of the way. Any funds reimbursed afterwards or left over will be put into Ellie`s Credit Union accout to help her with any future needs. “This is not easy for us to ask and we want to be clear that nobody should feel under any pressure to donate, it is simply something we have been asked to set up by people who wanted to help out.”

The fundraising page is at http://www.gofundme.com/3mm8tbk for more details