Boxer Lee Reeves remains in critical condition as family awaits postponed operation

Lee Reeves has remained in critical condition since his August 1 knockout, with his family seeking a new date for surgery

Lee Reeves during their BUI Irish Super Lightweight Title bout against Gary Cully during the Boxing in Dublin event at the 3Arena in Dublin. File picture: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

The family of Lee Reeves have been left distressed after an operation he was due to undergo at a Dublin hospital was “cancelled again”, according to his friend and former coach Jonathan O’Brien.

Mr O’Brien has been sharing updates on behalf of Mr Reeves’ family as the 31-year-old boxer remains in critical condition following a knockout defeat at Dublin’s 3Arena on August 1.

Mr Reeves, from Roxboro, was stretchered from the ring and rushed to hospital, where he underwent surgery before being placed in an induced coma at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin.

Over the last month, Mr Reeves has remained in a critical condition, but has responded on a number of occasions when spoken to by family members.

Jonathan O’Brien told the Irish Examiner that after being knocked out, Mr Reeves remained unconscious and underwent surgery.

“He never woke up, he went to the hospital, and they done an operation that night on him because they had to release pressure from the brain from swelling, and he had a bleed in the brain. So when they done the operation, they had to take a part of a skull away to release the pressure from the brain from swelling. You know, the brain did come down from the swelling, which is a good sign,” Mr O’Brien explained.

Mr O’Brien, with the permission of Mr Reeves’ family, said the Mr Reeves was discharged from Beaumont Hospital and recently transferred to the Mater Hospital.

According to Mr O’Brien, Mr Reeves is awaiting a cranioplasty, a procedure to repair the section of skull removed during his initial surgery. The operation has been postponed for a number of weeks, leaving the family awaiting a new date.

Mr O’Brien said Mr Reeves is now breathing independently but still has a tube in his throat, which he said was inserted while he was in the coma.

“He still has a yoke in his throat where they had him bleeding from, when he was in the coma. But now he can breathe on his own, but they still left that in. So they've been putting a voice box in every 45 minutes every day now the last couple of days. He's making noise out to see will he talk, you know? We’re awaiting three weeks for this operation no,” he said.

Mr O’Brien said the family had not been given a reason for the latest postponement and that, to their knowledge, Mr Reeves had shown no signs of infection over the previous week.

He criticised the treatment Mr Reeves has received, saying the family had been in contact with politicians and others about his care.

“The way they're treating Lee, and the HSE is a disgrace, and people need to know what's getting done. We’ve been onto TDs, we’ve been onto lots of people sending emails. So this is where we're at the minute, we have to fight for Lee because Lee can't fight for himself at the minute. He's already in a battle”.

The Irish Examiner has contacted the HSE, Beaumont Hospital and the Mater Hospital in Dublin for comment.