Miracle man John back on the road

MIRACLE man John Brennan is back in the driving seat. The 21-year-old, who survived a vicious assault in the US six months ago is back on the road in his massive 16-wheeler.

Yesterday, the Kilkenny man drove his truck from the city to Dublin and back his first trip back on the road with Byrne's Transport in Kilkenny. His smiling face said it all as he bounded into the cab for the four-hour round trip. "I'm really delighted to be back at work. My main focus all along was to get back into the truck and back on the road. It's what has kept me sane since I got back home just before Christmas," he said. John was two weeks away from his 21st birthday last September 28 when he was assaulted and left for dead outside an Irish bar in Yale, New Haven, Connecticut. He suffered a serious brain injury and spent almost two months in hospital, followed by weeks in Rehab. His hospital stay in intensive care cost $11,000 a day. This did not include the cost of the specialist care he needed from a team of top doctors.

But John was raring to go yesterday as he was waved off by parents Mai and Tommy and the Byrne family, which runs the transport company in Clara on the outskirts of Kilkenny.

There was a hero's welcome for John along his route as well-wishers turned up in Carlow to wave to him on his long-awaited voyage to Guinness' in Dublin to collect a tank and bring it to Kilkenny.

The same well-wishers were among the thousands who contributed to an appeal fund to help meet his $200,000 medical bills.

More than €130,000 of that was raised through an appeal fund as well as a golf classic at Gowran Park Golf Club; a night at the greyhound track in Kilkenny, and numerous other fundraisers in clubs, pubs and schools right across the country. The VHI is making up the remaining balance of €65,000. "We would really like to thank everyone who contributed to the appeal fund.

Only for their help, we would never have been able to meet the hospital and doctor costs," Mai Brennan said yesterday.

Yesterday, one of the chief fundraisers, John's aunt, Gen Byrne, said they couldn't believe the response when they first launched the appeal. She, along with John's uncles, Matty and Davy, worked tirelessly for weeks.

"When we started out, we had to raise $40,000 immediately to get John into Rehab. That money had to be up front. We organised the golf classic, which brought in €30,000, and the night at the greyhound track brought in a further €22,000," she said.