‘I’ve made so many friends in Headway’: Cork woman pays tribute to charity

A CORK woman has paid tribute to the charity that helped her persevere over a traumatic and life-changing brain injury.

Maureen O’Riordan, who hails from Newmarket, is a loyal member of Headway, having joined the organisation back in 2009.

She is one of dozens supported by the charity which provides services to people living with brain injuries, including the effects of a stroke.

The 61-year-old battled through much adversity in the months leading up to her introduction to Headway.

She first knew there was something terribly wrong when she collapsed at school while teaching her fifth-class pupils almost two decades ago.

Just four months later, in August 2008, she was found by a stranger after collapsing near a bus stop. She had been waiting for a lift to school after being advised against driving due to her previous health scare.

“I had two falls in one year,” Maureen told The Echo.

“The first one happened in the classroom. I was standing at the back of the classroom because I always felt that I had more control there. I suddenly began to feel very unwell. After making my way to the top of the classroom, I sat in the chair. The next minute I was on the ground”.

She described how the children had to leave the room as she lay unconscious.

“There were just five minutes left before break time,” she said.

“When the bell went, the children all stood up and took themselves out to the yard. One of them explained what had happened to a teacher outside who was a good friend of mine. 

"All she could do was send a child up to the staff room to ask for a colleague to come down to us. They had to go over to the boys’ school nearby to send over as many males as they could in order to be able to lift me.”

Maureen was immediately taken to hospital. Years later, she says the reasons for her first collapse remain unclear.

“I wasn’t able to drive after that, so I was waiting one day for the caretaker to give me a lift to work,” she said.

“It was a woman walking her dog that morning who found me on the ground unconscious. She sat me up to the best of her ability and phoned the Gardaí who immediately called an ambulance.”

Maureen said she suffered a number of brain bleeds in the wake of the incident and spent stints at Cork University Hospital and the National Rehabilitation Centre in Dún Laoghaire.”

RECOVERY

She decided to give up teaching and prioritise her recovery.

“I came out the other end with no patience or determination to do anything like that”, she said of the career.

“I had been teaching for 27 years and knew it was time to move on.

“It was my sister who told me about Headway. I’ve been with them ever since.”

Maureen spoke about some of the effects of her acquired brain injury.

“I suffered from severe fatigue after the last fall, and could fall asleep at the drop of a hat,” she said. 

“One of the only good things to come out of it was that the migraines I had been suffering since my late 20s completely disappeared.

“I wasn’t able to drive after my last fall, so I donated a new car I had bought to Abbi [Acquired Brain Injury Ireland], who also supported me. “

Headway, who have facilities in Ballincollig and Carrigrohane, has proved an invaluable support to Maureen during difficult times.

“Covid was dreadful, because we had nowhere to go”, she explained.

“I’ve made so many friends in Headway, and they have introduced me to a lot of new things. One of the things they introduced me to was mindfulness colouring. It’s something I’ve become addicted to.”

To find out more about Headway and the services it offers, visit www.headway.ie.