Miles for Matt

Matt's friends are running a marathon to help him get the care he needs. All proceeds go to getting Matt back on his feet.

Each day we are getting closer to our target. Any donations are much appreciated so we can reach our final goal.

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Our friend, Matt suffered a serious spinal-cord injury in Mexico this summer. He and his friends were on a boat tour off the coast of Cancun, and when diving into the water, Matt hit a shallow sandbank. This resulted in his C5 vertebrae being fractured. Luckily, Matt underwent an emergency corpectomy spinal surgery in Mexico and his spinal cord is still intact so there is hope. Currently, this means he has limited function in his arms, with no control of his triceps, hands or lower body.

Matt is the most kind, adventurous, fun-loving character. A great man for a party who lights up every room. For those who know him, he can be a little stubborn and opinionated, but he always makes it his mission to bring happiness to everyone he meets. Being an avid traveller he had decided to go to Mexico to volunteer at a coral reef restoration project and finish his trip with a Yoga instructor course.

He has since been repatriated to Ireland where he was initially treated at the ICU & spinal units in the Mater Hospital and is continuing his treatment at the National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH). Both the staff at the Mater, and the doctors, nurses and therapists at the NRH have been amazing. Although he has limited bodily functions, Matt has been making slow progress and is determined to get these back. His positivity has been unshaken throughout.

Time is valuable! The first 12 months of paralysis are monumental to getting body functions back. In order for Matt to recover we need to adopt a more aggressive treatment regime than is possible in Ireland at this time. We are currently in the process of applying for specialist treatment centres including stem cell, exo-skeleton and bio-electric treatments.

While the family are taking care of his immediate care and adaptations to his home, our aim is to get Matt the best available treatment and eventually back to his feet. At this time we do not have an exact cost as it would depend on the treatment centre but they are normally well in excess of €100,000.

Matt will never give up hope but we really need your support!! Please consider contributing to this Go Fund Me. Thank you for whatever you can do and we'll keep you up to date with Matt's progress.

We'd love to have you on board!