Banks refuse father loan to help bring daughter home

A DEVOTED father who has watched his paralysed daughter languish in hospital for almost 19 months has been refused a loan by several banks that would help get her home.

Pat O’Leary said he is angry at the banks for turning down his €120,000 loan request just months after they were bailed out by the taxpayer.

“They gave billions to developers who can’t pay it back, and we can’t even get this amount to help Catherine,” he said.

Catherine, a 32-year-old mother-of-one from Co Cork, suffered the devastating locked-in syndrome after a series of strokes following brain surgery in February 2008. It has left her paralysed from the neck down and unable to speak. She communicates by blinking her eyelids.

Mr O’Leary needs the money to modify Catherine’s home in Carrigaline so doctors will allow her leave hospital.

“We need to build a bedroom, a shower room and a lounge room for her. We also need to install a special hoist track in the ceiling to lift her from the bedroom to the shower room. That will cost €40,000 alone.

“We tried the banks but they turned us down, even though we had special letters from our solicitors. I would appeal to the public for help, if it’s at all possible.

“I know things are tough and any bit of spare money that people have, they are keeping it and I don’t blame them. But anything would help,” he said.

Catherine’s plight came to public attention when she was forced to travel to England for treatment last year after failing to secure a rehab bed here. Her father gave up work to care for her. She was flown to London by Aer Corps air ambulance to take up a place at the Royal Hospital for Disabilities in Putney, where she made progress in the early weeks. But the family was devastated when Catherine slipped into a coma. At one stage, doctors told Mr O’Leary that his daughter had just 36 hours to live and plans were made to bring her home to die.

But Catherine battled back from the brink and her condition improved. She was then flown back to Cork University Hospital (CUH) where she requires 24-hour nursing care.

Mr O’Leary and his wife Margaret have placed treasured family photos, including pictures of Catherine’s partner, Nigel, and their son, Brandon, 10, on the walls, and on the ceiling of her private room.

“From where we were, Catherine is doing very well now,” said Mr O’Leary. “They can take her off oxygen for several hours a day and she can watch TV, listen to the radio, and we’ve even been able to take her outside for up to half an hour at a time. The staff and nurses have been great but the doctors won’t let her go home until the house is properly equipped.”

He also praised Pat Power of the Moran Bewleys hotel group, who has approached several banks on their behalf, without success.

* The Catherine O’Leary Fund, Permanent TSB, North Main Street, Cork

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