Emotional tribute to ‘little warrior’ year after hit and run
A year after Zac Higgins was badly hurt in a hit and run, his parents have posted a video to thank everyone who helped their son.]
The parents of toddler Zac Higgins, who was seriously injured in a hit and run in Cork City a year ago, have posted an emotional video tribute to their “little warrior” and to all who’ve helped him.
Zac was just two years old when was knocked down outside his home in Mahon on the city’s southside at around 4pm on March 25 last year. The car left the scene.
Zac suffered multiple injuries and was rushed in critical condition to Cork University Hospital before being transferred to Temple Street Children’s Hospital in Dublin for treatment for a serious brain injury.
There were fears that he may never walk again.
He spent several months in hospital before he was finally able to return home last summer.
Thanks to his strength and determination, the support of his family, and the work of several medical professionals, he has made a remarkable recovery.
In a moving six-minute video posted by his father Paul on Facebook a year on from the accident, viewers see family photographs showing Zac in hospital when he was most critically injured.
The video charts his slow but steady recovery over the last 12 months.
It shows him undergoing physio, learning to walk again, visiting Anfield to watch a Liverpool game, trips to the beach, and images of him enjoying time with family and friends.
It finishes with a clip of him sitting on the couch at home, kissing a favourite cuddly toy and saying: “Thank you everybody”.
Paul said he made the short video to say thank you from his family to everyone involved in Zac’s recover and to show them his progress.
“Many long nights in dark places but this fella’s smile makes it all worth while,” he said.
He paid a heartfelt tribute to his wife, Aishling, who he said has been incredible over the last year.
He thanked Evolve Therapy in Mallow, including Áine and Emily, who have worked intensively with Zac, and to all the hospital staff who he said have gone “above and beyond” for his son.
He paid tribute to the people who work with Zac every day at Mahon Community pre-school and to the staff at the Brothers of Charity for their ongoing work with him.
But he paid a special tribute to the doctors and “more importantly” the nurses of St Gabriel’s ward in Temple Street hospital, describing them as “true everyday superheroes”.
