A NORTHSIDE family has expressed sincere thanks to all the people who have supported them after their son’s serious accident.
On December 1, 2015, James Higgins, from East Wall, slipped on an astro turf surface which left him with life-altering injuries. His sight, speech and use of his arms and legs were badly affected.
James, who was only two-years-old at the time of the accident, was playing football with his older brother.
Described by his father Kevin as a happy-go-lucky little boy before the accident, James is now aged four and cannot walk or speak. Also, the vision on his left side is damaged.
Kevin said his son spent six months in Temple Street and a further five months at the National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) in Dun Laoghaire.
“He only came home before Christmas,” Kevin told Northside People.
“He was in intensive care for a couple of days after the accident and it was touch and go whether he would pull through.
“At the moment he’s getting some Pre-School at the Central Remedial Clinic (CRC) in Clontarf.”
Kevin said his family can’t praise highly enough the people who are looking after James.
“Between physiotherapists, occupational therapists (OT), nurses, doctors, dieticians and others, the amount of care he is getting his second to none,” he said.
“There are so many people looking out for him. Our family is overwhelmed by the goodwill shown to James and we are so grateful for their support.
“They (doctors and nurses) have given him the care they would give to their own child.”
While James faces a difficult future, his father is determined to explore every option possible to make life easier for him.
Exhaustive research has led Kevin to the Adeli Medical Center, an international rehabilitation centre in Slovakia.
The centre specialises in providing intensive therapy for patients with cerebral palsy, stroke, traumatic brain injury and congenital neurological disorders.
After Kevin was told about the centre he carried out research to see if it would be beneficial for James and there was a positive outcome.
“The Adeli Center seemed to be top drawer and I heard it had a really good reputation,” said Kevin. “It costs about €300 a day for therapy and we have decided to bring James there for rehabilitation.
“He’s getting a bit better and we feel that a trip to this centre will help him continue with that improvement.
“I believe it will do him good. It won’t cure him but it will give him a boost. We are booked to go to Slovakia on August 28.”
James’s family set up a Go Fund Me page and have raised around €13,000 to date.
“Money has come in from everywhere and, through the Northside People, we would like to thank everyone who has helped us so far,” said Kevin.
“People have been fantastic and we couldn’t have got this far without them.”
Irish professional boxer Oisin Fagan is the most high profile person to offer support to date.
Last Saturday week, June 10, the champion boxer skipped a 5km distance from Kinsealy to Malahide village as part of the fundraising effort.
“My sister-in-law Michelle and her husband Stephen have been leading the fundraising campaign, and Stephen knows Oisin,” explained Kevin.
“We were delighted when Oisin agreed to get involved. We had a good turnout on the day and it was a great event. All the money we have raised will be going towards James’s care.”
