Colin Farrell pushed his friend Emma Fogarty, who lives with a rare skin condition, the final 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) of the Irish Life Dublin Marathon in her wheelchair Sunday.
Farrell, 48, ran the marathon to raise money for DEBRA, an Irish charity that supports people living with the incurable genetic condition epidermolysis bullosa (EB) — also known as butterfly skin — like Fogarty.
Photos show Farrell, the star of “Penguin,” beaming while he pushed a cheering Fogarty with her arms in the air.
Fogarty, who turned 40 in June, is Ireland’s oldest surviving person with the condition, according to NBC News’ British partner, Sky News. She was born with no skin on her left foot and her right arm and can develop excruciatingly painful blisters from just the slightest touch, which is why 80% of her body is covered in bandages.
People with EB don’t have the essential proteins that bind the skin’s layers together, so even the smallest amount of friction or movement can disrupt the skin, causing it to break, tear or blister.
Born with the most severe form of the condition, Fogarty didn’t expect to reach age 40, as most people with her type of EB don’t live past 35, Sky News reported.
She and Farrell originally hoped to raise €400,000 ($430,000) for DEBRA, but they now aim to reach a million euros. DEBRA’s website shows that they’re more than three-quarters of the way there.
Farrell and Fogarty appeared on Ireland’s “The Late Late Show” this month, when Farrell said he was pushing Fogarty 1 kilometer for every decade of her life, or 4 kilometers in total.
When asked what it meant to have Farrell by her side at the race, Fogarty said, “I trust no one more than you to push me that last 4K.”
