Tom to abseil off Red Cow
Tom is asking 200 thrill-seekers to join the ‘Jump4James’ Abseil Challenge and he was joined at the recent official launch of the adventure at the hotel by Leinster and Ireland rugby player Sean O’Brien and country singer and ‘Dancing with the Stars’ finalist Cliona Hagan.
Tom’s wife and children will also take part in the Challenge and he aims to raise €200,000 towards building a dedicated Brain Disease Resource and Research Centre at St James’s Hospital under the direction of Neurology Consultant Dr Colin Doherty.
In June 2016 a stroke caused Tom to fall while on holiday in Spain which caused a significant injury to his head. He underwent a craniotomy and spent six weeks in an induced coma in Carlos Haya Regional Hospital in Malaga before being airlifted to St James’s Hospital in Dublin under the care of neurologist Dr Colin Doherty.
From the outset, the outlook was bleak. Tom wasn’t expected to survive. His family were told that if he did survive there was every possibility that he’d require care for the rest of his life. The damage caused to his head was likely to result in him being brain-damaged, blind and paralysed. Three years on Tom has defied all the odds by making an incredible recovery.
“While a lot of my dad’s recovery can be attributed to his sheer determination and strength of character” says Tom’s daughter Tracey, Director of Communications at the hotel, “he could not have done it without the initial care and attention given by Dr Doherty and the neurology team at St James’s Hospital and rehab in Mercer’s Institute for Successful Ageing in the hospital.
“He spent almost a year in hospital, a total of 312 days. It has been a tough journey but my dad has had so many well-wishers and supporters coming forward and people sharing their own health-related stories which has been a huge comfort to him and our family. Despite dad’s prognosis the family always remained positive, in fact Dad was only six months into his recovery when my brother Michael came up with the idea of abseiling off our new extension to help raise funds for the hospital and as a way of thanking everyone for their support. We’re delighted to be finally turning this idea into reality and facing the big jump together!”
Tom’s determined to give back to the hospital that got him back on his feet and to help others with brain-related conditions.
St James’s Hospital treats a large number of patients with a range of brain diseases including Epilepsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Motor Neurone and other complex brain diseases.
All funds raised go to St James’s Hospital Foundation towards providing a new Brain Disease Resource and Research Centre there that will offer a new model for patient care in neurological disease. It will be a purpose-built modular unit located on an existing site at St James’s.
Through a process of re-design and renovation of new facilities, with new electronic-based work procedures, it will greatly improve the care environment.
“Through building a new modular Brain Disease Centre, our aim is to provide the best value care to patients in the most appropriate setting in a timely manner using the best information, diagnosis and therapy with the best-trained staff in the country,” explained Colin Doherty, “We already have a funding pot of €80,000 raised through a number of marathon races over the last few years and the hospital has committed to supporting this great initiative with funding. The huge generosity of the Moran family will help us reach the final target of €350,000.”
Only 200 lucky thrill-seekers will get to scale the Red Cow Moran Hotel’s nine-storey extension to help Tom raise the money. You can sign-up as a group (corporate, club or friends) or as an individual.
To secure a place on the abseil and to cover the costs for same the registration fee is €65. Participants must also raise a minimum of €300 in fundraising to take part and help Tom reach his goal of €200,000.
To sign up for the Abseil Challenge or to donate, please visit, www.supportstjames.ie/tom-says-jump-jamess-abseil-challenge/
Watch Cliona and Sean lending their support for the campaign.
Follow the hashtag #jump4james on Twitter.
