THE FAMILY of a 52-year-old Limerick man who suffered a life changing stroke in Turkey are hoping to raise up to €30,000 to bring him home.
On February 28, Liam McCarthy suffered a life changing stroke in Fethiye, Turkey and was taken to Isparta University Hospital where he remains in a critical condition on a life support machine.
Elaine McCarthy, Liam’s sister, said that her brother has yet to regain consciousness and has no movement.
Ms McCarthy said that they met with Liam’s medical team for a progress report on the condition of her “little brother” as she thanked everyone who contributed to the GoFundMe page.
“Thanks for all your generous donations and messages of support. We met with Liam’s neurologist and anesthesiologist. They told us that Liam is suffering from basial artery disease and unfortunately the prognosis is not good.
“We are now looking into bringing him home when it is safe to do so.”
It was only two weeks after the stroke that the full extent of the trauma became known to the McCarthy family.
Elaine along with his other sister Dee, flew to Turkey to be with him and revealed that their brother was too sick to move and that his health insurance would not cover all of the hospital expenses.
The first week of Liam’s medical treatment cost the family €2,000.
“We are raising funds for Liam’s medical care and hopefully to get him home to Ireland when he is well enough to travel. At the moment we have no idea how long Liam will be in hospital or what treatment he is going to require in the future”, Elaine said adding that tragically “it is unlikely that he will ever make a full recovery.”
Liam’s sister went on to say that “the hospital informed us on Friday that they wanted to move Liam to another hospital.
“This would be his fourth hospital in three weeks. Every move effectively means starting all over again. We believe that nobody wants to take responsibility for Liam’s prognosis or future care.
“Meanwhile Liam’s condition is visibly deteriorating. When we first arrived Liam was aware of our presence. He showed emotion and could communicate by blinking. This is no longer the case he is now unconscious and completely unresponsive.
“Dee and I have made the very difficult decision to come home temporarily to seek medical and political advice on how we can move this forward before we return to be with Liam. We would like to thank you all for your generosity and support at this very difficult time.”
It is hoped that the family can raise the €30,000 needed to get Liam home.
As of this Wednesday, the campaign page had reached two thirds of its target with almost €20,000 raised.
Elaine added that “Limerick Artist Tom Collins has very kindly donated the proceeds of the sale of his work ‘Don’t Give Up’ from the Art/Hope in Uncertain Times exhibition to Liam’s fund.
“A very thoughtful gesture that I know Liam would really appreciate.”
Donations to the GoFundMe campaign can be made here
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