In January, Irish man Niall Maher, travelled to San Jose to say goodbye to a close friend who was dying from cancer only to be put at deaths door himself by a suspected drunk driver. Now three months on his partner, Zita O’Reilly and concerned friends in Ireland have set up a GoFundMe page (Niall’s Traumatic Brain Injury Recovery) for the huge medical costs that will have to be paid in the coming months to ensure he continues to progress.
On January 22nd Niall was knocked down and sustained life threatening injuries – broken bones in his legs, knee, elbow, ribs and shoulder, internal damage to his organs, fractures to his neck and upper back and perhaps the most dangerous of all - a laceration to his scalp that caused a brain bleed and swelling which resulted in serious traumatic brain injury.
Treated by some of the best medical teams in the world in San Jose at Santa Clara Valley Med he is facing months and indeed years of surgery, therapy (speech, occupational and physical) and most importantly recovering from the brain injury. He is scheduled to be discharged at the end of March and his post-acute care will have to take place in California before he is stable enough to return back to Ireland or somewhere closer to home. Zita O’Reilly , Niall’s partner for the past 13 years said, “We set up the GoFundMe page because the cost of medical care, support services and living costs. We have wonderful friends and family who have been trying to help us but I am truly worried about what is coming down the line in a few weeks’ time when he moves out of acute care, let alone the coming months and year. When he is out we are going to have to let him know that Tama who he had come over to visit has passed away”. To support Niall please log onto GoFundMe – Niall’s Traumatic Brain Injury Recovery, any donation is truly appreciated.
Slán go fóill,
Danny