Bring Mike Home

Ok folks, here is a more comprehensive update on Mike's condition. Its a bit long but it will give you the full picture.

Update on Mike Curran
Despite the severity of his injuries Mike is incredibly positive, as are his entire medical team, Sara and his family. Keeping a positive outlook and approach to the rehab program is a critical element to his success in the long run.

The good people around him and the incredible support he is receiving from friends all across the world but especially those at home in Ireland boosts his morale on a daily basis. It gives him the energy to keep pushing forward.

While the rehab is expensive, €12,500 per week, the care and treatment Mike is getting is exceptional. He has up top 30 hours per week of therapy, working with an interdisciplinary team of physios, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, a neurologist, ophthalmologist and neuro-psychologist.

The combination of these therapies provide Mike with the best opportunity to fully return to his old self, to regain his independence and to move forward with his life.

Fatigue, physical and mental is a huge side effect of the traumatic brain injury. The therapies are very intense so Mike needs a lot of rest. He must use the evenings and weekends and any time away from the therapies to rest and refuel.

His brain needs to be treated extremely gently and he must switch off as much as possible in order to give it the time it needs to recover from the trauma. Even just chatting or watching tele can be a strain, contributing to fatigue and exhaustion.

The consultant neurologist on Mike’s case leads the whole team of therapists and oversees the development and implementation of his rehab program. He provides clinical and medical expertise regarding the injuries to Mike’s brain.

The physio team provide Mike with therapies and exercises to work on re-building muscle mass and getting his balance back. There has been a degree of atrophy a result of being bed-bound so they are working to get him back to pre-accident levels, or as close to that as possible. He has 3 physio sessions per day.

Mike has been experiencing a lot of dizziness since the accident and this has also impacted his balance. The physio team has been doing motion sensitivity tests in order to help him with these problems.

He is also working with the vestibular physio team. This work focuses on the elements of balance that are controlled by the inner ear. As a result of these sessions some of the dizziness Mike had been experiencing has subsided and he has greater control over his movements.

There is a long way to go yet but Mike is heading in the right direction. He is making great strides and is pretty mobile. He has a lot of hard work to do on the muscle imbalance but he is gaining strength every day. Mike was never afraid of a bit of hard training so he is enjoying seeing the results as he gets fitter and stronger every day.

Occupational Therapists are helping Mike on a daily basis with vocational and everyday living tasks and giving him the confidence and independence to get on with the normal tasks of everyday life – things ranging from cooking for himself to running errands.

Speech & Language therapists in addition to assessing Mike's verbal communication also work with him on non-verbal communication. The SLT works with Mike on his processing and interpretation of information.

The Neuro-Psychologist works with Mike daily. He has been through a very traumatic experience which of course has had more than just a physical impact on him. The Neuropsychologist meets Mike to assess his cognitive and processing ability while also providing emotional support.

Mike has met a number of other healthcare professionals from maxi-facial specialists who have been looking at the broken bones in his face to the Ophthalmologist who has assessed his vision. His vision has been causing him ongoing problems since the accident. He now needs to wear glasses full time. He is still getting used to the new addition to his face.

The prognosis for Mike is very positive. His Consultant Neurologist said that there is no reason why Mike cannot return to his old self with time and the right therapy.

For all of you who know Mike you will know what a determined character he is. He has shown incredible strength, resilience and determination during this terrible time. He is reassured by his great progress to date but he is also incredibly humbled and touched by all of those that have organised and participated in fundraisers, supported the Gofundme campaign and by all of the well wishes, kind words, thoughts and prayers.

Without your support this amazing and comprehensive therapy Mike is receiving would never have been possible. Without your support, the clinic would never have even accepted Mike as a patient. It t is down to you, dear kind, generous people, that Mike will ultimately be able to return to his former life.

Words alone cannot possibly express the gratitude everyone who cares about Mike feels for all of you.

Thank you.

Well the news is all good here. Last Wednesday Mike and Sara's former co-workers at Grant Thornton took to their bikes in 3 different offices across Ireland - Galway, Dublin, Belfast. 92 cyclists over the three locations covered a distance of 1536.3 KM

These wonderful people at Grant Thornton helped raise €8,000 with more bits and pieces coming in but more than that….the partners of the company have agreed to match this so the staff and partners of Grant Thornton will be donating over €16,000 to Mike's rehab fund. Wooooohooooo!!!!!!!

Louise Barry who helped organise the event said. " It feels like small change when this only covers a week and half of treatment but the it was great to see everyone get involved to support Mike and Sara."

There is no such thing as small change when great people come together to support a great cause. Huge and heartfelt thanks to everyone at Grant Thornton for their participation and support.

We have received a number of queries as to how the Gofundme page works. I thought it might help people understand it better if I explained it a bit.

Gofundme is a form of crowd funding. Crowd funding simply refers to the process of making a call for financial support via all available platforms. In the case of fundraising for Michael, we have gotten the message out there via social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter and also through media interviews in various newspapers and on radio.

The way Gofundme works is that someone sets up a page, in this case it was me and administers the page by providing updates and sending thank you letters.

A beneficiary must be named and a bank account designated to which funds can be withdrawn from the Gofundme account and lodged to the beneficiary’s bank account.

Gofund me charges a very small fee for each donation and and overall percentage of the funds raised. But this really is, in total, a very negligible amount compared to what is being raised.

As administrator I have no access to any of the funds raised.

Michael Curran is the beneficiary of all fundraising. Therefore he has control over the funds being withdrawn and they can only be lodged into his personal bank account. This way, Michael and Sara can directly make the weekly payments of €12,500 to the Wellington Clinic where Michael is receiving treatment.

All funds raised are specifically designated for Michael’s medical treatment and rehabilitation. There will be a full accounting of funds raised and spent at the end of the year and quarterly thereafter as long as is required.

I can assure you and everyone who has been so generous that everything is completely above board. Everyone in the Curran and O'Shea families are committed to ensuring transparency and accountability in terms of the way the funds are being collected and then spent.

I hope this helps explain things. But if anyone has any further quetions please don't hesitate to contact me directly. All the best, Kieran