US surgeon dons Offaly jersey to give local boy the 'best' news after life-saving op

A US surgeon donned an Offaly GAA jersey in recent days to deliver "the best news" to the family over Tullamore boy Joey Conway who underwent life-saving surgery last year.

Joey Conway was the subject of the Join Together for Joey fundraising campaign which gained huge traction at the end of 2023 and early 2024 when his family shared his story.

Joey was diagnosed with Portal Vein Thrombosis (PVT), which has led to a serious and rare condition Non-cirrhotic Portal Hypertension. Portal Hypertension has life-threatening symptoms and the risk of death is 40% on a first episode of bleeding. The bleeding comes from varices that develop in his oesophagus.

Natalie and Tommy Conway put the story out there at the time in a bid to save their son's life. They needed to raise over €330,000 for potential life-saving surgery in Chicago and they did it after the community in Offaly and further afield rallied in a big way. They did it and got to Chicago for a number of surgeries in 2024. 

OPINION: The Join Together for Joey hitting target is everything I love about Offaly

This week, they posted an amazing update on their Join Together for Joey social media pages, describing the latest update as a "jubilant moment for Joey."

They explained: "We gave Joey's surgeon, Dr Superina, an Offaly jersey after he admired it on Joey a few months back at one of our post op visits in Chicago.

"On Thursday [Nov 6] he surprised us by wearing it and also by giving us the best news, that this is our last post op visit in Chicago. The best news for Joey and our family."

Natalie and Tommy added: "It’s two years this December when we shared our story @jointogetherforjoey and thanks to you all he was able to have his surgery four months later.

"Now he is thriving and living life to the full! We are beyond grateful to everyone who helped us along the way," they concluded.

Followers of the page on social media were quick to express their delight with one saying: "A lovely update, so delighted for you all & great to see Joey thrive."

A second said: "This is just wonderful news. May Joey continue to thrive each day. Thank God."