Donegal woman’s fundraiser for ‘life saving operation’ for brother with scoliosis

A Donegal woman's fundraiser to pay for her brother's "life saving operation" has been a success.

Jason Hanlon suffers from severe scoliosis that has left him in constant pain for most of his life. He also has profound learning disabilities, both mental and physical. The 26-year-old was diagnosed with scoliosis nine years ago. Since then, the condition has progressed rapidly, leaving the Donegal man in excruciating pain. He also engages in methods of self-harm such as head-banging and biting himself. Jason's sister, Aine, set up a GoFundMe page to pay for a "life-saving operation" to "soothe his pain in any way possible." She said:

"My family and I have to sit at Jason’s bedside ensuring that we can help soothe his pain in any way possible. Which involves sitting talking to him, to try and distract him from the pain. However, it has now come to the point that no distraction method, no medication and no amount of people can help his uncontrollable pain. "To sit and watch my brother scream 24/7 with tears streaming down his wee face is unbearable for my family and I. It is very difficult not being able to explain to him what is happening to his own body as you can imagine."

Jason's operation is scheduled for later this month, November 27 in Tallaght Hospital. More than €11,000 of the €10,000 goal has already been raised, with €3,000 of that figure thanks to Irish footballer and captain Seamus Coleman. Jason's family thanked Coleman in a Facebook post over the weekend. "Jason is a huge fan of Seamus Coleman and by the looks of things Seamus is a huge fan of Jason too," they wrote. The 26-year-old will require an "extreme" amount of aftercare following his surgery later this month. You can check out the GoFundMe page here.