A DEVOTED son has donated £5,000 to a Covid-19 emergency fund for NHS staff at the hospital where his father had life-saving treatment.
Tim O’Sullivan and his wife Kacey O’Driscoll, on behalf of the Danny Sullivan Group, have donated the money to The National Brain Appeal’s Emergency Fund for NHS staff at The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London.
The hospital, which is the UK’s leading centre of excellence for treating diseases of the brain, spine and nervous system, is where Tim’s father Danny received life-saving treatment in 2017.
Currently the charity is raising funds to provide immediate and practical assistance to under pressure hospital staff who are battling the coronavirus pandemic.
The National Brain Appeal is raising emergency funds for staff The National Hospital, under pressure due to the Covid-19 crisisAs well as treating patients with Covid-19, urgent brain surgery continues at the hospital and emergency stroke care has temporarily relocated there from University College Hospital.
Tim, who is managing director of the Danny Sullivan Group, saw the work of the hospital first-hand when his father, who hails from Co. Kerry, spent five months there following a life-threatening brain haemorrhage resulting from a ruptured aneurysm.
Danny, who needed emergency surgery and three subsequent operations, spent six weeks in intensive care, two weeks in the high dependency unit and a further three months on a ward where he needed intensive rehabilitation to help him to re-learn how to walk and talk.
The father-of-five, who is the founder and chairperson of the Danny Sullivan Group, which has been supplying skilled, professional labour to civil engineering, rail, transportation and construction industries since 1986, has since made a full recovery.
Tim explained: “My father worked long hours but always looked after his health, so it was a huge shock to our family when he suddenly became unwell.
“We feel lucky to have been in such good hands, from dad’s GP’s quick action to get him to hospital, to his consultant neurosurgeon for saving his life in the operating theatre, to the nurses, physios, occupational therapists and psychologists who helped him to recover and taught him to walk and talk again. We are eternally grateful.”
He added: “Seeing my father doing so well now is testament to the incredible skill and expertise of the staff at The National Hospital. My wife Kacey, my family and I are grateful every day for not only saving his life but returning him to such good health that he can live and enjoy a normal life.
“He is still involved in the business but taking it much easier these days.”
Danny O'Sullivan, left, with son Tim and daughter-in-law Kacey - who cycled over 900 miles to fundraise for The National HospitalIn 2018 the Danny Sullivan Group donated £76,000 to The National Brain Appeal’s Aphasia Programme, which provides patients with aphasia — speech and language difficulties following stroke, traumatic brain injury or brain tumours — with 100 hours of therapy.
As reported by The Irish Post at the time, Tim and wife Kacey raised those funds by cycling 1000 miles from Lands End to John O’Groats.
Of the O’Sullivan family’s continuing fundraising efforts, Theresa Dauncey, Chief Executive of The National Brain Appeal, said: “We are so grateful to Tim, Kacey and the Danny Sullivan Group for their very generous donation to The National Brain Appeal’s Emergency Fund for The National Hospital.
“They have seen first-hand the dedication and skill of clinical staff when Tim’s father Danny was a patient there.”
She added: “With the current Covid-19 crisis, all staff are working incredibly hard, from the doctors, nurses and pharmacists to the porters, domestics and support staff.
“They are putting themselves on the frontline and taking on longer shifts to care for patients. We will do whatever we can to support them now and in the future.”
To donate to support NHS staff at The National Hospital click here.
