On December 12th of 2022, 12-year-old Sophie Lanigan from Dublin was rushed to hospital with a high temperature and breathing issues.

She was later put on a ventilator in ICU due to suspected pneumonia, and it was then that Sophie’s parents, Laura and Keith, learned their daughter had contracted sepsis after having previously contracting strep A.

Sophie was transported to Crumlin Children's hospital and put on a stronger ventilator after she went into septic shock and her organs began to fail.

READ MORE: Dublin family fundraise for boy, 17, after mum passes away from short cancer battle

After two weeks bravely fighting for her life, on Christmas day Sophie was taken off the ventilator.

Writing on GoFundMe, a loved one of Sophie confirmed that she was in critical condition and fighting for her life for weeks with her parents by her side the whole time.

'Unfortunately, Sophie woke to the devastating news that the damage caused to her hands and feet were irreversible and amputation was necessary.

A gofund me has been sent up to raise much needed funds for Sophie and her family
A gofund me has been sent up to raise much needed funds for Sophie and her family

'Sophie spent four more weeks in ICU battling infections, dialysis and many other complications but thankfully started to improve and was strong enough to face her first surgery.

'Not all of the surgeries went to plan and Sophie had even more setbacks for the 10 more weeks she spent in hospital. But Sophie is the most amazing, strong, determined girl and she battled through again. She is our hero and we are all so unbelievably proud.'

A GoFundMe was set up in the hopes of raining money to help Sophie and her family 'adapt to this new way of life':

'Sophie and her family face a difficult path ahead adapting to this new way of life. They will need to make changes to their home to meet Sophie's needs, as well as prosthetics and other adaptive equipment. The cost of all this can be daunting.'

Sophie was put on a ventilator in ICU due to suspected pneumonia, and it was then that Sophie’s parents, Laura and Keith, learned their daughter had contracted sepsis after contracting strep A.
Sophie was put on a ventilator in ICU due to suspected pneumonia, and it was then that Sophie’s parents, Laura and Keith, learned their daughter had contracted sepsis after contracting strep A.

'We started this fundraiser because not only would we like to help our hero Sophie, but we would like to help her incredibly strong, brave parents and brother through an extremely difficult time too.'

"Sophie is now waiting for a place in the national rehabilitation hospital and hopefully she gets a place soon" Leanne Byrne, organiser of the gofundme told us.

"Sophie is just amazing, everyone is in awe of how brave she is. She’s determined, she’s very positive - she has her days but she's truly unbelievable. She is an inspiration to us all."

You can donate to the GoFundMe and help raise much needed funds for Sophie and her family here.

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