A thief stole medical equipment worth €800 from a children’s ambulance at this year’s National Ploughing Championships.
The incident occurred this morning when BUMBLEance founder Tony, who set up the charity with wife Mary, turned his back to take a call from the parents of a terminally ill child.
The couple had been fundraising for a second ambulance at the Co Laois event but were left distraught when they realised that medical equipment, including a number of oxygen saturation probes, had been stolen.
BUMBLEance offers modern ambulances stocked with medical equipment and entertainment facilities including a television and games console to ensure that the journey of a sick child who needs transportation between a treatment centre and their home is the most comfortable journey possible.
It is understood that the money lost through the theft could have been spent on two ‘angel trips’, when the charity brings a terminally ill child home to die.
“We only have a small crew of volunteers here, and noone’s getting paid – we’re here to fundraise and help sick kids. We just turned our back for a split second, to answer a parent’s question. We’ve had a couple of parents here this morning who’ve got kids who are dying, and they’ve asked can we help get their kids home from Crumlin – of course we will,” Tony told The Daily Mirror.
“And then you’re distracted for a second, and it’s just gone. That’s just disappointing. There’s good people in life, and there’s a small few bad people who just make it shit for everyone else.”
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