Headway

Headway provides support and services to people affected by brain injury. Founded in 1985, they also work to heighten public and political awareness of acquired brain injury and the impact it has on individuals, families and carers.

So why are we raising funds for Headway? Meet Anto, guitarist with Gardiner Street Gospel Choir.

Anto's Story

"In September 1997 while I was walking home having spent the evening with friends I was viciously attacked and badly beaten, my attackers had left me for dead.

I spent the next three months in a coma. While I was in a coma my dad passed away. It was thought that I would be unable to talk without difficulty or even to walk again. I cannot put into words the feelings. My whole life had changed for the worse and for no reason.

Dad died and I came out of the coma. I was in a wheelchair for nearly a year. I was sent to the NRH (National Rehabilitation Hospital) in Dun Laoghaire. This was the start of a long journey. I spent a year in this hospital learning to talk, walk and do everyday stuff that I'd always taken for granted. I was living in a nightmare and did not know how to get out. I came out of hospital in 1998. It was so difficult, I didn't know where to start. I spoke very slowly and walked with the aid of a stick. I couldn't work anymore, couldn't drive. I was taking 25 tablets a day and was on a course of injections. I used to play guitar with a reggae band. What do I do now? It was the hardest time of my life.

The hospital recommended a group called Headways, for people with head injuries. I got involved, it was hard at first. Everybody was afraid of the unknown. God couldn't throw any more at me! I used to go to classes, general meetings with people who had brain injuries. Headways opened my eyes to brain injuries. They are a brilliant support group. People just don't know how delicate the brain is. The hospital fixed my body but Headways brought normality back to my life. They listen to people with brain injuries and guide them. Their patience helped give me back my confidence.

The world can be a crazy place for people with head injuries. The people at Headways can make life a happier place. I would like to thank everybody involved who put me back together again. I have been back to Headway many times over the past 16 years and I know the door is always open for somebody in a crisis."

Temple Street Children's Hospital

Temple Street Children's University Hospital was established in 1872 as a hospital for the poor children of Dublin. Now under the care of The Sisters of Mercy, it is one of the major paediatric hospitals catering for children from all over the country.

Our big project for 2013 is to redevelop one of our oldest and busiest wards. St Joseph's, affectionately known to many as Top Flat, is essentially the heart of our special hospital. It's the ward where children with serious injuries are admitted through Accident and Emergency; the ward where children suffering from life-limiting illnesses such as cystic fibrosis often call home; and it’s the ward where children under-going same day procedures are admitted while their anxious parents wait in the wings.

With your support we can...

• Install 4 isolation cubicles with en-suite facilities
• Provide a treatment room, a parents room and school room for those patients and siblings who are in our care for long periods of time
• Provide 2 wards with 2 beds and 3 multi bedded wards, all with en-suite facilities
• Provide a space for parents to sleep comfortably by their child’s bed

Click here to find out more about current projects and how you can lend your support.