Support Serena After Spinal Injury

In November 2021 our friend Serena Kinane was in a horrific car crash and suffered a serious spinal cord injury. She had emergency surgery in the Mater Hospital and spent weeks in ICU on ventilation (life support) with her family and boyfriend Tomas by her side. She had many drips and drains including being fed through a tube in her nose.

Three days after her surgery the doctors inserted a tracheostomy tube in the hope she could learn to speak and breathe on her own. Over the next number of days her strong will and determination saw Serena learn to speak and week by week she needed the ventilation less and less. Her tracheostomy has now been removed and she is breathing on her own.

Serena spent Christmas and New Year in the Spinal Trauma Unit learning to sit upright so she could be transferred to a wheelchair. She learned to swallow again and now no longer requires her feeding tube.

In January she was transferred to University Hospital Limerick and then to the National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH). Her parents Colm and Yvonne, her family and friends would like to thank all the doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and auxiliary staff for all the expert care she has received and continues to receive in the NRH.

Serena is 21 years old and studying to be a secondary school teacher in Mary Immaculate College. Her many friends from college keep in regular contact and she is determined to finish her Degree. She has a strong love for all animals but especially horses and her dog Nala.

At present she has very limited body function but this does not hamper her fun loving spirit and determination. Serena is a strong and sometimes stubborn young woman and these traits are helping her every day to strive towards a bright and independent future.

At this time her parents Colm and Yvonne are exploring the necessary house adaptations, transport needs and care required for Serena to come home .While her therapists are working with Serena to prepare her for a life in a wheelchair, Serena is not giving up. There are many medical interventions and therapies available in other countries. Serena is exploring which of these will be most beneficial to her in the future. For her journey to recovery we need your support.

 

Please help by your donation and share far and wide