Brave Co Galway boy suffering from a severe form of bone cancer fulfills life long dream of taking helicopter ride at Shannon Airshow this weekend – TheLiberal.ie – Our News, Your Views

Brave Co Galway boy suffering from a severe form of bone cancer fulfills life long dream of taking helicopter ride at Shannon Airshow this weekend




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A terminally ill Co Galway schoolboy has fulfilled a life long dream of his this weekend as he was brought in a helicopter to see the view of 40,000 people at the Shannon Air Display.

The young boy Stephen Reilly aged 11 from Eyrecourt, Co. Galway was given VIP treatment at Saturday’s air show, young Stephen who is fighting against osteosarcoma (an extremely aggressive form of bone cancer) was delighted to have been taken on the trip through the skies. The young boy an avid aviation enthusiast received an invitation to attend the event after his parents wrote to Shannon Airport last week asking if there was any possibility he could be taken on a helicopter ride.

Stephen who tragically had his leg amputated recently spoke of his delight of his day out saying:  “It was the best day ever,” “The helicopter ride was fantastic. Just to see everything from way up there was great.” Stephen’s father Michael also spoke of how great the day was for his son saying : “It’s just an incredible day for us. He has been through an awful lot over the past six years, more than you could imagine. “He has undergone chemotherapy and leg salvage surgery. He then had his leg amputated in 2013 but he has been unbelievably brave. He has just gotten on with it.”

Meanwhile Niall Maloney the Shannon Airport Operations Director also spoke of young Stephens brave fight and said that everyone at the airport had been inspired by Stephen’s story.
Mr Maloney said: “He’s such a brave young man. We got the email from his family during the week and it was one of those moments when we said this just has to happen.”

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