King Henry throws weight behind fundraiser for ‘little angel’ with rare illness

Fancy getting your hands on a special signed jersey of King Henry and a pair of boots signed by the Kilkenny legend and help a young boy with a rare illness at the same time?

Now you can!

Ten-time All-Ireland winner and arguably the greatest hurler of all-time, Ballyhale’s Henry Shefflin is donating a special edition, signed Kilkenny jersey displaying the years of Henry’s All-Ireland wins on it, as well as a signed pair of Puma King boots, the same as Henry wore when he prowled fields the length and breadth of the country for the “Do It For Dan” campaign.

One-year-old Dan Donoher, the son of former Laois footballers Niall and Aisling Donoher, was diagnosed with the extremely rare and difficult to treat Severe Type 1 SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) shortly before Christmas.

Early in March, the couple launched an online fundraising campaign in an effort to raise €2 milllion for a groundbreaking new treatment which could change Dan’s life forever.

A treatment called Zolgensma has recently become available in America, but is the world’s most expensive treatment for any condition and costs $2.125m. Until Zolgensma was developed, there was no cure for type 1 SMA.

The rare illness attacks the muscles needed for swallowing, speaking and breathing and leaves the patient needing constant ventilator support.

Just this week, Dan’s parents announced their GOFUNDME campaign cracked €1 million (€1.3million) and now King Henry has gotten on board to kick start the next million.

In a post on Twitter Henry said: “I’m donating a signed special edition Kilkenny jersey, with the 10 All Ireland wins printed on it, aswell as a signed pair of Puma King boots to raise money for this little Angel Dan Donoher #doitfordan  @DoItForDan201 random winner picked next week.”

Anyone who wants to win the jersey or donate to the campaign can log onto Henry Shefflin’s Twitter page or go directly to the DoItForDan GoFundMePage.