Richie’s on the road to Recovery

Hello everyone my name is Fiona Casey Sheehan, I have been married for the last 16 years, and have two wonderful sons, Brian and Dylan.

Today I would like to tell you a little bit about my husband Richie.

In November 2021 my husband got extremely ill.

While in hospital he suffered a massive stroke, which resulted in him having to have emergency surgery to save his life. His brain was so swollen they had to remove part of his skull, and unfortunately other complications arose which caused him to need an emergency blood transfusion.

We were utterly heartbroken as a family, all we could do was hope that Richie’s would pull through. As this was during Covid times it put a lot of strain on our family and friends as we didn’t have the ‘typical’ support.

Richie spent some time in the wonderful care of the ICU team. When speaking to us they always used the term ‘if he pulls through’ instead of ‘when he pulls through’ as it was a very complex diagnosis ,the worst they the staff had seen in twenty years.

We were also left with the devastating news that Richie would need full time care for the remainder of his life. A once strong, independent man could not communicate or swallow on his own.

It took Richie a lot of time and a great deal of help on the stroke ward to learn how to get any strength and moment in his body.

Despite all his struggles, we knew our Richie was still in there fighting to get better. He would smile when myself and our sons would visit, but again given the covid restrictions getting in person visits was so rare.

Richie worked incredibly hard with the team of exceptional neurologists, stroke nurses, physiotherapists speech and language therapist and occupational therapist.

Five months later Richie had a titanium plate fitted to where his skull was removed. A few months later again, Richie travelled and spent three and a half months in NRH in Dún Laoghaire, where he had intense Rehabilitation, we travelled up to Richie most weekends.

Finally Richie got to return to Cork, something we had been praying for for so long. Richie lost sight in one of his eyes, he suffers from Aphasia, and is in use of a wheelchair,he is working hard on his speech and taking steps assisted.

We are so proud of Richie’s incredible strength and determination the last three years, and is an inspiration to us all.

Richie has surpassed all the doctors expections , and although Richie remains in hospital, we are now able to take Richie on days out from the hospital, which we never thought we’d get to do again. Spending time with our boys doing everyday things brings him and me the most joy. We are now in the process of finding our forever home as a family again with the correct facilities and support’s in place for Richie’s needs.However, the car we have currently is not suitable for Richie and his wheelchair.

I’m reaching out to you for any support possible so we can buy transport suitable to Richie’s needs. I never thought my family would be in this position, but we are trying everyday to make the best of how lucky we are to still have Richie, and sincerely appreciate any help you can give to us.

Thanks for your time

Fiona