Support Brian Domi on his road to Recovery.

From the close-knit community of Ballymote in Co. Sligo emerges the exceptionally remarkable story of Brian Domi Mallon, a 30-year-old whose life took an unexpected turn. Despite facing daunting challenges, his spirit remains unbroken, shining as a beacon of hope and resilience.

A bit of background to this remarkable, warm, and kind young man: Brian grew up in Crozon, Sligo, with his parents, Brenda and Gerard, and his sister, Louise, with their close-knit extended family living nearby. As a child, he enjoyed playing with Lego and "The Sims" and dreamed of being an architect. He was also fascinated with local history and enjoyed speaking to older people, listening to their stories. Brian has a passion for politics and social justice, inspired by his grandfather and uncle. A year abroad in Barcelona during his Erasmus year ignited a love affair with the city, prompting Brian to make it his home for much of his twenties. He completed his master's in sociology in 2022 and was due to begin teaching it to young people in 2023.

On March 3, 2023, in an instant, tragedy struck. Brian missed a step descending the stairs of the Sagrada Familia Metro Station in Barcelona on his way home from work. Brian was initially in a coma for two weeks after suffering a brain bleed from the impact of the fall but began making an almost miraculous recovery after waking—he quickly started regaining movement and speech, and his doctors were astounded. However, during Easter week, he developed an infection at the site of his craniotomy, which quickly spread through his entire brain. Despite surgery to attempt the removal of the infection, he suffered a further bleed and went back into a coma. This time, recovery hasn’t been so easy.

Brian has undergone 13 surgeries in total, addressing issues such as bleeds, infection, craniotomy, cranioplasty, multiple brain shunts, tracheostomy, and a PEG feeding tube. He was left with challenges such as an inability to talk and communicate, complete paralysis on his right side, and partial paralysis on his left side. Brian spent three months on life support, nearly five months in the ICU, followed by five months in a specialist rehabilitation hospital in Barcelona. His family and partner, Cris, have been with him every step of the way and are by his side, supporting Brian through this massive life change.

However, there is hope. Brian began to breathe fully on his own in September. He started to eat in October and finally began to say some words in November—mostly just "hello" and "yes" for now. He is very slowly regaining movement and mobility. His spirit is very much intact, and he laughs and smiles a lot, as well as singing along to his favourite music. However, he still requires 24/7 total care and will continue to need it for the foreseeable future. He also needs to learn to speak again, as he is unable to produce speech independently. We hope to find help to teach Brian to speak using the right side of his brain—the part that retains the lyrics of his favourite songs.

Brian returned by air ambulance to Sligo University Hospital on December 28th, 2023. He moved to the Benbulben Rehabilitation unit at St. John’s Hospital, Sligo at the end of January where he received two months of physical, occupational, and speech therapy.

Unfortunately, Brian’s participation in rehabilitation has been stunted due to medical issues, the severity of his brain injury, medication side effects, and his difficulty in communicating. Routine tasks are exhausting, requiring a tremendous amount of energy. For these reasons, progress has been slow, and his time in specialist rehabilitation in Barcelona came to an end far too quickly—just when he had started to make real progress. The potential for Brian’s recovery massively depends on continuing to provide the best possible care and rehabilitation.

Brian has just gone through the latest chapter on his journey to recovery. Since coming back from Barcelona, Brian has developed a complicated brain condition that culminated in a major seizure at his residence in St. John’s Hospital. He was immediately taken to SUH, and that evening, he was transferred to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin. He spent the next three weeks in their high dependency unit, where he underwent two brain surgeries and commenced an intensive anti-seizure medication program. Thankfully, his recovery started immediately, and he was transferred back to SUH on Friday, May 31st. He is now in their neurology unit, where his recovery is ongoing. He will be resuming his rehabilitation and taking his place at the NRC in Dun Laoghaire later this year.

We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has donated to Brian’s fund, to those who have given their time and energy in support, and to those who have organized fundraising events. Every cent received goes directly into the Brian Domi Trust Fund, which is a controlled fund that will be used exclusively for Brian’s rehabilitation and needs. We expect it will help him regain as much independence as possible. We can’t tell you how much it is appreciated and how much it’s a source of comfort and strength for our family.