Sister of Cork man paralysed after falling from ladder urges others to take care

A sister of a man who has been left paralysed after a simple fall from a ladder is appealing to others to put safety first when using them.

Sister of Cork man paralysed after falling from ladder urges others to take care

A sister of a man who has been left paralysed after a simple fall from a ladder is appealing to others to put safety first when using them.

John Kennedy, a 40-year-old father of one, fell from a ladder at his home in Carrigadrohid, Co Cork while looking for tools to fix a leaking tap on October 6.

The triathlon, marathon and cycling lover was at home with his wife Ina, three-year-old daughter Jessica, his Mum Mary, brother Mark and niece Ella when his life-changing accident happened.

“What John - the eldest of five siblings - and the entire wider family are going through over the past couple of months, we don’t want to happen to anyone else.

“John really wants anyone planning to use a ladder never to do so alone. Along with John, we as a family, would seriously urge people to use them only if you have someone to hold the bottom of one,” explained Ciara, John’s younger sister and nurse at Cork University Hospital.

We are so mindful of people getting up on ladders over the Christmas period to put up lights and decorations so we appealing to them to be careful.

“Ninety-nine out of one hundred falls never come to much but it can only take a simple fall like John had to end up paralysed, brain-damaged or even dead. Think twice before you get up on a ladder.”

'A very simple accident'

John was in great form that day as he had just returned from a holiday in Lanzarote with Ina and Jessica the day prior to his accident.

It was a very simple accident. The tap at the kitchen sink was leaking so John went out to the shed to get some tools. Then all of a sudden the family heard John shout. They ran out to find him on the ground.

“The ladder went from underneath him and he fell as he was reaching for his tools...He fell no more than seven feet to the ground.

“John knew straight away that something was seriously wrong as he said he couldn’t feel his legs. He had also broken his right arm which turned out to be fractured in five places. He is a very black and white person in terms of the way he deals with things and he knew that he had done serious damage to himself.

“An ambulance arrived at the house soon after John’s fall but his injuries were too unstable for him to travel by land so he was airlifted to Cork University Hospital (CUH) where scans revealed that he had broken two vertebrae in his back (T11 and T12) and had a badly broken arm.

“He was transferred to the national spinal injury unit in the Mater Hospital, Dublin where he had extensive surgery to stabilise his back and arm the day after his fall, so serious was his condition. Two days later he was told by doctors that he would never walk again as he had suffered a complete spinal cord injury which means he is paralysed from the waist down.

'One unlucky fall'

“All it takes is one unlucky fall. John’s fall has changed everyone’s lives but it has also brought us closer together as a family. Our brother Mark is adapting his house so John can stay there for around six months until his own house is ready.

“Thankfully he is being allowed home for a couple of hours on Christmas Day which is more than we expected. We have definitely become so much closer as a family after what’s happened.”

While John, who is a validation engineer, and his family are finding the road ahead for them physically and emotionally challenging, he and they are determined that to make sure life will improve once again.

He will remain in Cork University Hospital until his arm fully heals following a second surgery due to a tendon snapping and then go to Dun Laoghaire National Rehabilitation Centre to commence an extensive rehabilitation programme to adapt to life as a paraplegic.

“Nothing could prepare John or us for such a devastating thing like this to happen. The road ahead is going to be both physically and emotionally challenging, but there are also many costs involved to allow John live his life to the fullest, so we are doing our best to support him financially at present until we see how his recovery is developing.

“He is a very active and adventurous person, so we need to get him back to that place.

We need to raise a lot of money to help buy the medical equipment he has to have such as a proper wheelchair, adaptations to his home and special car...It all adds up to thousands and thousands of euros - massive costs to be honest.

"No donation is too small.

“There will be a Spinathon fundraiser over the coming weekend in Mahon Point Shopping Centre organised by our Mum’s work colleagues and John’s cycling club to raise more money which we are so thankful for. Everything financially is up in the air when it comes to medical costs etc.

“John has also signed all the family up to do a 60km charity cycle in March. He is also aiming to take part in the 2020 Dublin City Marathon in a wheelchair. He is setting so many goals that are helping us all. “

Donations can be made to https://www.gofundme.com/john-kennedy-adapting-to-life-with-paralysis

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