My name is Luke Kelly Melia and I am thirteen.
I am home schooled at the moment because the board of management won’t let the Aidan in, he’s the dog that helps me walk.
If you’re wondering why I need him, I have cerebral palsy.
Cerebral Palsy affects my legs.
The messages in my brain sends to my legs gets messed up and bang I hit the ground.
Before I got Aidan I was falling 24/7 on my front and back and it hurt like hell.
So when I got Aidan I was training for a week in Cork and I did well, so now if you’re wondering, this is before all this doo doo happened.
It was going pretty great, Aidan was dropping me to my class, and back to my car with not a bother until christmas.
After Christmas I was planning on keeping him with me all day.
Then the letter came, I didn’t know what was happening and this was after I got my christmas holidays.
The letter said, you can’t bring the dog into school anymore.
This made me feel really sad.
Mammy and Daddy decided to home school us because of this and I haven’t been in school since December.
It’s all turned into a really big nonsense.
I’m bored, My brother is bored, and I really want this sorted out.
We’ve been on the newspaper, the radio, twice and TV3, everybody seems to care except the board of management.
I don’t think they care at all.
Aidan is really soft.
He’s harmless to others.
He wears a halti and a harness and there’s this thing on top of the harness, I don’t know what it’s called but I hold it and he pulls me along.
When I wobble Aidan stops and usually the fall goes away.
When I do fall, its never backwards, those falls are completely gone.
If I do fall forwards, I now lean on Aidan’s shoulder and pull myself up.
I am writing to you because you are the last hope I have.
Mam has written to the minister for education, and the inspector and the bishop and they ignored her.
Mammy and Daddy are worn out now, so I have decided to write this to you.
Please listen to me and see what you can do.
You can see me on YouTube if you google my name or my clip is called fall down seven times get up eight times.
It’s called that because that’s what happens to me without my dog.
Please could you sign our petition at this link, I need your help.
My school was called Knocktemple National School.
Thankyou,
Luke Kelly Melia.
Aged 13.
http://youtu.be/G-ttwQtMyFk
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