Positive news for Sharon Ball

There is positive news for Bohermeen native and mother of three, Sharon Ball, who is recovering well major surgery yesterday (Monday) in the US to tackle a rare and aggressive cancer.

Reports following the surgery for a stage four skull-based osteosarcoma, which is an extremely rare form of cancer, have all been positive according to a family spokesperson.

"Doctors are happy with how it went. There will be scans and further tests today to confirm everything went well. The plan and next steps will be decided then."

The news comes just one week after Sharon arrived in New York with husband Dermot, following an overwhelmingly generous response to a Gofundme campaign to raise money to fund the treatment.

Sharon, who teaches at St Mary’s National School in Trim saw chemotherapy treatment here prove unsuccessful, and she was given an opportunity to undergo surgery in the specialist Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, NY.

With the procedure and associated treatment and recovery expected to run to hundreds of thousands of euro, a fundraiser set up by her family and only opened last Thursday week has seen donations exceed a staggering €800,000.

In an update posted last to the gofundme page, Sharon said:

"My heart is filled with gratitude. Thank you to everyone who has donated, encouraged and helped make this possible.

"Your generosity, kindness, prayers and love truly mean more than words can ever say”

Before her arrival in New York a family spokesperson told the Meath Chronicle:

"It's hard to get your head around. It's good for you to see that there's that kind of level of support and humanity out there. It's brilliant. Just seeing all the local businesses and people being so generous is just amazing."

"This is the little light at the end of the tunnel now for her, and hopefully things go well. As I said, like, Sharon's not looking to climb Mount Everest. She's not looking to swim the Atlantic or anything.

"She wants to see Sophie take her first steps. She wants to see Louis start school in September, the things that we all take for granted that she's working incredibly hard and fighting for."

Sharon’s family have said that every donation, no matter how small, will make a difference, and are encouraging people to support or share the campaign where possible.

Chair of the fundraising committee and Sharon’s sister in-law, Aoife Ball, said:

“Sharon is at the centre of her young family and her community, and this surgery offers real hope at a time when options are extremely limited.

"We are asking people, if they can, to support this campaign — every contribution, no matter how small, brings Sharon one step closer to getting the treatment she urgently needs.”

Further details of the fundraiser can be found here https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-sharon-get-urgent-life-saving-brain-surgery