Niall's Traumatic Brain Injury Recovery

Overview: My name is Zita, I am a Cavan girl living in Dublin Ireland. This page is for my partner Niall originally from Listowel in Co. Kerry , who was knocked down by a suspected intoxicated driver while visiting his terminally ill friend in San Jose, California.
Niall sustained extensive injuries including a Traumatic Brain Injury.
We are fund raising for his recovery after discharge. He will need further surgery, phisyo, occupational & speech therapies.
The brain injury being the most  concerning-  his doctors are measuring his potential recovery time in months and years, not days and weeks. 

His parents Jim (from Tipperary) & mother Irene (from Co. Claire) are just some of those waiting eagerly to have him home.
Please read below for the full story.

 

 

Niall's friend, Tama, called to tell him she had a brain tumor, and had only a few weeks left - and Niall isn't the kind of man to stay put in Ireland when his friend is facing terrible news. So he boarded a flight, even though flying during the pandemic terrified him, and headed for California. And while he was here, comforting his friend of over 20 years, he found himself in a terrible predicament.

 

 

 

On the 22nd Jan '22, while walking back to his friend's house from dinner in Campbell, California, he was struck by a suspected intoxicated driver. His injuries were substantial: broken bones in his legs, knee, elbow, 8 ribs, and shoulder; internal damage to his kidney, liver, and adrenal gland; fracture to the c7 in the neck and upper back; and the largest, and most worrisome, a laceration to his scalp that caused a brain bleed, swelling, and a serious traumatic brain injury.

 

 

 

 

 

Niall has a long road of recovery ahead of him. In my first conversation with his doctor, she said, " It's a life changing injury."

 

 

 

 

The life Niall lived, and what he's fighting so hard to recover, is one of kindness, humor, cinema, the arts, and deep creativity. He's a filmmaker, an independent and curious thinker, a great lover of life and travel, and the curator of his own destiny. Niall is a singular creature, a person who goes out of his way to find the good in even terrible circumstances, and because of his spirit, his family and friends are determined to help him find the good in his.

 

 

 

Here are some of the things he'll be facing when he regains enough consciousness to be released from the hospital: orthopedic surgery for his knee and elbow, occupational therapy to learn to live his life on his own again, speech therapy to regain his singular voice, and physical therapy to regain his independence. But most concerning, of course, is the recovery he'll face from his brain injury. The brain is a tricky thing, and his doctors are measuring his potential recovery time in months and years, not days and weeks.

 

 

 

He's incredibly lucky to be receiving care in San Jose, with a team of hospitalists who are skilled and dedicated to him. But Silicon Valley is among the most expensive places in the world, and much of his post-acute care will have to take place here in California until he's physically and mentally able to tolerate air travel.

 

Niall is scheduled to be discharged from the hospital at the end of March, and the cost of his recovery until he's cleared to fly will be substantial. Private rehabilitation centers are outside of our ability to pay, ranging from $25,000 - $60,000 per month in California.

 

What will your donation contribute to in the USA? (This does not include the costs once he is able to return to Ireland.)

-Caregivers around the clock ($40 per hour, $6,700 per week)

- Accommodations (US rent $3,000 per month, Dublin rent €800 per month)

-Rehabilitation Equipment ($2,000 - $3,000)

-Legal representation ($5,000 visa support)

-Living expenses ($400-$800 per month)

-Flights and travel costs (estimate $5,000)

-Transport to doctors ($40 per day)

-Treatment & surgeries (unknown at this time)

 

Since Niall's accident, his friend Tama has passed away (he doesn't know yet). He was one of her last visitors, and she was so worried about him, his recovery, and the distance he was from his little home in Dublin, where he was happy and safe. She said in her last days, "Nially must be so scared. I wish I could be with him." It's a poignant irony that Niall rushed to her side when she had terrible news, and now he's facing terrible news of his own, with a very long road home.

 

Your generosity in helping him find his way on this path is much appreciated.

 

 

 

 

 

Much love,

Zita, Niall's partner of 13 years