Fundraiser for Cork man who suffered 'catastrophic' injuries in Vietnam motorbike crash

A fundraiser has been launched for a Cork man who remains in critical care after being involved in a recent motorbike crash in Vietnam.

Damien Horgan was involved in a road traffic accident in Vietnam where he has been living and working as an English language teacher for four years.

The Cork man sustained very serious injuries in the crash.

His sister Fiona Horgan provided an update on Damien's situation in a social media post. She said Damien catastrophically damaged the left side of his body, broke his collar bone and shoulder, and sustained 11 broken ribs.

His ruptured spleen was removed following surgery, and he also required life-saving surgery for a ruptured bronchus and collapsed lung which would not reinflate. Damien will need further surgery to stabilise his rib fractures once he is well enough.

Fiona revealed that Damien is currently unconscious and ventilated on life support. He is on an ECMO machine to replace the function of his lungs and heart. He is also on dialysis for kidney damage. He has received multiple units of blood and IV antibiotics.

Fiona added in the post that Damien was due to start a new job before his accident and his insurance was linked to his old job so he has no medical cover.

The Horgan family have been covering the substantial cost of his medical treatment, which has already cost around €30,000 in the last two weeks, but said this is not sustainable as his recovery will take several months.

The Horgan family said they are very grateful to Damien’s ‘amazing’ friends in Vietnam who have covered the cost of some medical bills and have been a massive support to the family since the accident.

In the social media post, Fiona also thanked the amazing medical staff who have worked tirelessly to keep her brother alive.

So far, €59,891 has been raised for Damien through the GoFundMe fundraiser and the family has reiterated that any donation big or small would make a massive difference.

People can donate to their GoFundMe page by searching 'Help Damien Fight For His Life' on gofundme.com, or by dropping a donation into the bucket at Stunners Hair Salon in Mallow.