Miracle man McGovern ‘inspirational’

THE Fermanagh footballer who was left in a coma after an incident on a GAA field in San Francisco has admitted it’s a “miracle” he’s alive.

Mark McGovern, 23, from Belcoo, suffered head injuries during a game in June and doctors fought to save his life for four weeks as he tethered on the brink of death.

“One of my doctors told me that I was 97.5% dead,” he said on BBC last night. “At that stage I really, really did think of it as a miracle how bad I was. I never even knew how bad a shape I was until I was speaking to the doctor. It was a shock to know that I was that close to death, so it’s just amazing that I even came out of it.”

The Erne man had only been in the States five days when he was injured in the game between the Ulster Club and the San Francisco Celts.

“The kind of injury Mark had was deep inside the brain,” said Mark’s doctor.

“It was the kind of injury we’d normally see after a car crash of about 60 mile per hour. We’d have seen the injury in similar cases where the person would have died on the scene. Two weeks into his ICU stay and we were still fighting for his life.”

Since the accident, he has had to learn how to walk again and, although he is out of hospital, is still undergoing intensive one-on-one rehabilitation in California.

“It’s a miracle what he’s able to do,” said his physical therapist Loren Hollander.

“The most amazing progress I’ve seen in my career. He’s truly and inspiration for all.”

However, despite having travel insurance, his package did not cover contact sports and McGovern’s family have been asked to foot a medical bill of €740,000. Due to the excessive costs, the Mark McGovern Rehabilitation Fundraising Committee was set up.

Patrick Power, who was accused of being involved in the match incident, was given a 96-week suspension in August by the San Francisco GAA Competition Control Committee.

The family later said they may appeal the ban as they do not believe it is long enough.

Police initially dropped the case against Power but a spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department, Troy Dangerfield, said they are still appealing for witnesses to provide evidence.

“He [Power] was arrested and was released,” he said.

“It was dismissed but all that means is we need to get more evidence before we reopen the case.

“We’re looking for people to come forward.”