Brave fight for acid victim
Now, after 51 painful operations, Cealan Goan can open his mouth for the first time since he was a baby and eat and breathe on his own.
Cameras from TV3’s moving series inside Temple Street Children’s Hospital, show surgeons carrying out major reconstructive surgery on Cealan.
The Donegal child was just being a typical, inquisitive tot when he drank drain cleaner while exploring the presses under the sink. Just minutes later the 18 month old baby was fighting for his life as the acid had burned through his lower lip, his tongue and his airways.
His mother, Roisín McMahon, was told there was little hope for his survival when she rushed him to Sligo General Hospital.
“There wasn’t a whole pile of hope for Cealan, they didn’t think he would make it. They didn’t even think he would make it from Sligo to Dublin. They kind of prepared us for that. He was anointed in Sligo,” she said.
“I thought ‘Of course he’s going to make it. Don’t tell me things like that.”
In the series, his mother recalled the accident.
She said: “It was early in the morning. He was in the kitchen with his sister and I was in the bathroom and he just got it and took it.
“Whenever I came out of the bathroom and picked him up off the floor he was screaming and I could actually smell him burning in front of my eyes.
“It was minutes. That’s all it was. Minutes.”
Craniofacial surgeon, Dylan Murray, said Cealan did severe damage to his mouth and throat after ingesting the acid.
“The acid burnt most of his lower lip, the skin on the inside of the mouth including the tongue and the gums and then also the upper airways which include the upper part of the esophagus and the trachea which is the windpipe.
“He was completely tube fed and unable to breathe through his mouth properly”, said Mr Murray.
* Temple Street Children’s Hospital will air on TV3 on November 7 at 8pm.
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