Bring Mike Home
Help a truly lovely young man get his future back.
UPDATE Mike is out of the coma but there is a long road of recovery ahead of him. His family have researched the best options qnd identified a rehab facility in the UK willing to take him They require proof of ability to pay in advance. The costs are €50,000 per month and treatment is likely to take 6 months, maybe more. This is why we needed to increase our fundraising goal.
Mike Curran was hit by a car in France and has suffered a traumatic brain injury. He is in hospital in France and needs to be moved to a rehab facility in the UK. The costs are immense.
At the tail end of a trip of a lifetime Mike Curran, from Waterville, County Kerry, Ireland and girlfriend Sara O'Shea were just weeks away from returning home when tragedy struck.
After cycling thousands of miles from their start in China, crossing multiple countries before reaching France, Mike and Sara had faced many perils together cycling across rough terrain in all weather, fixing punctures in the middle of no where and braving the frigid weather on mountainsides. On their way to Paris they faced the worst peril of all, ordinary street traffic.
Between Reims and Paris, making their way on the bikes that had carried them so far, the worst happened when Mike was hit by a car sustaining a traumatic brain injury. He was thrown metres high landing on his head. As a result of the accident he has suffered 5 haemorrhages to the brain, bleeding in the lungs, 2 fractured ribs, a broken nose and broken cheek bone. Mike now needs urgent rehabilitative care. It is the only way to get him fully back to himself. Help us get Mike's future back for him.
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UPDATE Mike is out of the coma but there is a long road of recovery ahead of him. His family have researched the best options qnd identified a rehab facility in the UK willing to take him They require proof of ability to pay in advance. The costs are €50,000 per month and treatment is likely to take 6 months, maybe more. This is why we needed to increase our fundraising goal.
Mike Curran was hit by a car in France and has suffered a traumatic brain injury. He is in hospital in France and needs to be moved to a rehab facility in the UK. The costs are immense.
At the tail end of a trip of a lifetime Mike Curran, from Waterville, County Kerry, Ireland and girlfriend Sara O'Shea were just weeks away from returning home when tragedy struck.
After cycling thousands of miles from their start in China, crossing multiple countries before reaching France, Mike and Sara had faced many perils together cycling across rough terrain in all weather, fixing punctures in the middle of no where and braving the frigid weather on mountainsides. On their way to Paris they faced the worst peril of all, ordinary street traffic.
Between Reims and Paris, making their way on the bikes that had carried them so far, the worst happened when Mike was hit by a car sustaining a traumatic brain injury. He was thrown metres high landing on his head. As a result of the accident he has suffered 5 haemorrhages to the brain, bleeding in the lungs, 2 fractured ribs, a broken nose and broken cheek bone. Mike now needs urgent rehabilitative care. It is the only way to get him fully back to himself. Help us get Mike's future back for him.
This week Mike starts his last week in rehab at the Wellington Hospital. The team have been amazing and his progress since Day 1 has been fantastic. From the head Neurologist being somewhat surprised to see Mike (he thought he wouldn’t make it from France having reviewed the notes) to where he is this week is simply amazing. This wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity of so many people. The rehab facilities in the Wellington are some of the best in the world and because of this, Mike was given the best possible chance to recover. Although there is still a long road to go the team in the Wellington have set him on the right course and he is determined to get to the end of that road.
Since the last update there has been a few fundraisers for Mike. Two that I want to mention are the Lip-sync Battle organised by Waterville GAA in January and a fundraiser in London in February organised by several people from the London Irish community. The reason I mention these is that Mike was unable to attend these, but he wrote some words that were read out on the night expressing his gratitude which moved people to tears. I have included Mikes words below for you to read yourself.
The rehab has been intense, and Mike is jaded at the end of every day. He continues to work with his physio daily on his balance and mobility. And issues from the fall that are cropping up now, like shoulder damage and back/neck problems. He does a lot of cognitive work with his Occupational Therapist and Neuro Psychologist and he continues to see his Ophthalmologist to see if his eyes will return to full capability. He has had issues with his swallow and so he is seeing a Speech and Language therapist to rectify this. He must do “boring” exercises for this (his words not mine) but this should help and make it right in the future. He says he would love to be back pre-season training rather than doing the exercises he is doing now!
Mike will return home next week and will be assessed in Cork to assign him to the therapists he needs. He cannot wait to be home.
Thank you again to everyone who has supported Mike's cause. He got the help he needed at a crucial time and he is ever so grateful for that, as are Sara and his family. He is looking forward to the next stage of his recovery at home in Ireland and being closer to his friends and family.
Words from Mike shared at the
London Fundraiser held 9 February 2019
"It is very difficult to express in words just how much all of the fundraising and well wishes mean to me. I have received nothing but positive messages, thoughts and prayers since the day this all happened. I have felt so much love and support from such a wide community - family, friends, colleagues, people I've met on my travels and even from people I don't know. The support has been unwavering and tonight is another exhibit of this unwavering support. Two weeks ago the people of Waterville hosted a Lip Sync Battle for me and at the time I said that I feel so lucky to have such an amazing circle of friends and a truly amazing community all looking out for me. I feel that again tonight with this incredible event being organised to support me. The people of Waterville, Kerry and all of Ireland really are the best. And of course many people in the UK who have been equally awesome also. It has been amazing how people have come together to support their own.
Nineteen weeks ago today I was lying in a coma in the Intensive Care Unit in Robert Debre Hospital in Reims. My condition was critical and my future uncertain. Today, although I am not here in Quex Road tonight, my situation is very different. It is far removed from 29th September 2018 and my future is certain. I owe my gratitude to all of you here tonight and to all those that have donated to my cause to date. Your generosity and kindness is amazing. It is down to you all that I have been able to get the best treatment and rehabilitation in the Wellington Hospital. And because of this I am getting closer to my old self every day.
Thank you to everyone for organising such a great event including the auction (I am not gonna name names because I am afraid I will forget someone). And for everyone for attending including all those that have travelled from home to be here. My heart is full tonight."
Words from Mike - Lip-sync Battle
"I am extremely emotional lying here watching all my friends performing and doing this to help me out. I cannot put into words how this makes me feel. I feel so so lucky to be from Waterville and have such an amazing circle of friends and a truly amazing community all looking out for me. I don't know where or who I heard this from but it is 100% true. It doesn't take a family to raise a child. It takes a Community. And I am just extremely lucky to have been born in Waterville. Thanks so so much from the bottom of my heart for the constant support from when I was in a coma in France 4 months ago to this day. I dunno who reads our blog but I am always so amazed by the kindness we experienced in other countries BUT it is heart warming that my own people are just as kind as these people I wrote about. And when I needed the people of Waterville most they were there for me... thank ye all again and look forward to seeing ye all over the months when I get home"
Since the last update there has been a few fundraisers for Mike. Two that I want to mention are the Lip-sync Battle organised by Waterville GAA in January and a fundraiser in London in February organised by several people from the London Irish community. The reason I mention these is that Mike was unable to attend these, but he wrote some words that were read out on the night expressing his gratitude which moved people to tears. I have included Mikes words below for you to read yourself.
The rehab has been intense, and Mike is jaded at the end of every day. He continues to work with his physio daily on his balance and mobility. And issues from the fall that are cropping up now, like shoulder damage and back/neck problems. He does a lot of cognitive work with his Occupational Therapist and Neuro Psychologist and he continues to see his Ophthalmologist to see if his eyes will return to full capability. He has had issues with his swallow and so he is seeing a Speech and Language therapist to rectify this. He must do “boring” exercises for this (his words not mine) but this should help and make it right in the future. He says he would love to be back pre-season training rather than doing the exercises he is doing now!
Mike will return home next week and will be assessed in Cork to assign him to the therapists he needs. He cannot wait to be home.
Thank you again to everyone who has supported Mike's cause. He got the help he needed at a crucial time and he is ever so grateful for that, as are Sara and his family. He is looking forward to the next stage of his recovery at home in Ireland and being closer to his friends and family.
Words from Mike shared at the
London Fundraiser held 9 February 2019
"It is very difficult to express in words just how much all of the fundraising and well wishes mean to me. I have received nothing but positive messages, thoughts and prayers since the day this all happened. I have felt so much love and support from such a wide community - family, friends, colleagues, people I've met on my travels and even from people I don't know. The support has been unwavering and tonight is another exhibit of this unwavering support. Two weeks ago the people of Waterville hosted a Lip Sync Battle for me and at the time I said that I feel so lucky to have such an amazing circle of friends and a truly amazing community all looking out for me. I feel that again tonight with this incredible event being organised to support me. The people of Waterville, Kerry and all of Ireland really are the best. And of course many people in the UK who have been equally awesome also. It has been amazing how people have come together to support their own.
Nineteen weeks ago today I was lying in a coma in the Intensive Care Unit in Robert Debre Hospital in Reims. My condition was critical and my future uncertain. Today, although I am not here in Quex Road tonight, my situation is very different. It is far removed from 29th September 2018 and my future is certain. I owe my gratitude to all of you here tonight and to all those that have donated to my cause to date. Your generosity and kindness is amazing. It is down to you all that I have been able to get the best treatment and rehabilitation in the Wellington Hospital. And because of this I am getting closer to my old self every day.
Thank you to everyone for organising such a great event including the auction (I am not gonna name names because I am afraid I will forget someone). And for everyone for attending including all those that have travelled from home to be here. My heart is full tonight."
Words from Mike - Lip-sync Battle
"I am extremely emotional lying here watching all my friends performing and doing this to help me out. I cannot put into words how this makes me feel. I feel so so lucky to be from Waterville and have such an amazing circle of friends and a truly amazing community all looking out for me. I don't know where or who I heard this from but it is 100% true. It doesn't take a family to raise a child. It takes a Community. And I am just extremely lucky to have been born in Waterville. Thanks so so much from the bottom of my heart for the constant support from when I was in a coma in France 4 months ago to this day. I dunno who reads our blog but I am always so amazed by the kindness we experienced in other countries BUT it is heart warming that my own people are just as kind as these people I wrote about. And when I needed the people of Waterville most they were there for me... thank ye all again and look forward to seeing ye all over the months when I get home"
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