The Patrician Academy is getting behind a major fund raising campaign for Jerry Forrest, a four year old boy from Cork who suffers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a genetic muscle wasting condition which leads to early death.

There is no cure currently for this condition but UK based research is making progress on a treatment that may be able to slow and possibly reverse the condition. At the moment Jerry’s life expectancy is in his twenties to early thirties with deterioration of muscles and major organs set to start well before 10 years of age which will involve him being wheelchair bound within the next few years.

His parents and family are spearheading a campaign to raise €250,000 for research in the next year. Michael Forrest his father teaches at the Patrician Academy in Mallow while Dolores Foley his mother works at St. Angela’s College in Cork. Both schools are supporting the campaign. Various events are ongoing , the most recent being a non uniform day at the Academy being run with the school’s Green Water Week, green being one of Jerry’s favourite colours as well as messing with water.

A coffee morning will take place in the new school gym on Friday March 22nd at 10am.

A ‘Jump For Jerry Facebook’ gives full details of these events and a series of interviews with TV3 can be viewed there or on TV3’s website.

Anyone wishing to donate to Jerry’s cause can do so to the Jump For Jerry Fund ; AIB, bank code 934100, account number 07673063.