KILDARE CLUB TWO Mile House are hosting a fundraising run this Saturday for 21-year-old Adam Burke, who suffered a stroke while playing for his club in July 2016.
Burke spent two weeks in a coma and doctors told his family he may never walk, talk, or recognise them again. His brain was swelling and his skull-cap had to be removed in a lifesaving operation to allow his brain swell naturally.
He was given a 20% chance of surviving and while his recovery surprised doctors, the effects of the stroke have left him with a number of difficult challenges.
He needs therapy to reclaim his full speech and mobility (he suffered paralysis of his right arm and weakness of his right leg) but it can cost around €1 million.
It’s estimated there’s a three-year window for a stroke victim to make significant progress. After that time frame progress can slow down 20 fold. Burke is 14 months from the accident now and it’s still hoped he can make a full recovery.
Burke is a talented footballer who played a key role in Two Mile House’s All-Ireland club junior football championship final win over Roscommon’s Fuerty in 2014, when he bagged 2-2 in Croke Park.
As part of their bid to raise much-needed funds, the Burke family and Two Mile House GAA Club are hosting a family day of fun on 30 September that includes 5k and 10k fun-runs.
Tickets are priced at €25 and include a t-shirt and entry to the BBQ that evening. The BBQ will be followed by a celebrity GAA Panel hosted by Marty Morrissey with special guests Davy Fitzgerald, Joe Brolly, Michael Duignan and Tomás Ó Sé.
Tickets for the event can be purchased here, but if you cannot make the walk/run and would still like to make a donation you can do so here.
To find out more about Adam’s story and the family’s fund-raising initiatives, visit the website www.runforadamburke.org.
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