EFFORTS ARE under way to bring a woman with a rare syndrome, which renders her aware and awake but unable to move or communicate, back to her home after a year spent in hospital in London and her native Cork.
Catherine O’Leary (32), Carrigaline, Co Cork, was diagnosed with locked-in syndrome in early 2008 after she suffered a stroke during surgery to remove a brain tumour.
After months of campaigning for treatment, Ms O’Leary was flown to a rehabilitative facility in Putney in the UK from a high-dependency bed at Cork University Hospital (CUH) last September. Her father, Pat O’Leary, hoped the move would improve her quality of life as well as her condition.
Ms O’Leary, who is the mother of an eight-year-old boy, Brandon, initially responded well to the rehabilitation treatment at the Royal Hospital for Disabilities in Putney. However, in early October she suddenly stopped breathing and lapsed into a deep coma.
Doctors told her family there was little or no hope for her. However, she regained consciousness and was subsequently flown back to CUH.
Mr O’Leary said the aim is to take Catherine off the breathing machines this month in order to bring her back to her home in Carrigaline.
