Cobh Woman To Get Hip Surgery After Mother Confronted Taoiseach

Hip surgery funded after 15-year wait

Katie Byrne, who has cerebral palsy, a dysplastic hip, a twisted femur and a retroverted pelvis, had been waiting for surgery for 15 years. In September of last year, her mother Antoinette Burke confronted Mr Martin on his way into a Fianna Fáil think-in at the Rochestown Park Hotel in Co Cork, telling him her daughter had been waiting since childhood.

The surgery, which can only be carried out at the Paley Orthopaedic and Spine Institute in Florida, costs in the region of €300,000. Ms Byrne has now confirmed to Cork’s 96FM that the HSE has agreed to fund the operation and her physiotherapy in full.

I don’t think it has sunk in. There have been false alarms surrounding it. I have been sobbing. But now it is real.

Ms Byrne, who completed her Leaving Certificate this summer, said she hopes to be walking with her "new legs" by Christmas. She expects to be in the US for around nine weeks for two procedures. For the latest Irish news, stay with joe.ie.