'You should be in a wheelchair' doctors tell brave dad

A Ballinagore father whose family was told he'd never walk again after he broke his neck in a work place accident says that he will travel the world in his bid to get back to "half normality".

Shane Gannon's life was turned upside down on December 8 2013, when he was seriously injured at his family's quarry in Ballinagore.
"We usually put a star [for Christmas]on the cement silo. I spent the whole day at that and said that I'd just move this big A-frame of glass out of the way with the crane to take the pressure off on Monday morning."
As he carried out his intention one of the sheets of glass struck his chin, jerked his head back, and smashed three vertebrae.
"It left me flat on my back," he recalls.
While at the scene of the accident Shane's family were told that he had suffered both a broken jaw and possibly a collarbone. However, at the Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore they were given the devastating news that he had suffered three broken vertebrae in his neck and would in all likelihood spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
Shane was transferred to the Mater Hospital and almost died within the first couple of weeks when the plate inserted in his jaw became infected.
After two months in the Dublin hospital he was transferred to the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire.
At this time all he could move was his right index finger. "It was like being a baby again,” he says.
“I had to start everything from scratch; walking, sitting up, moving my hand, shaving, brushing my teeth, I couldn't do anything."
A self confessed "thick hoor" with a stubborn streak, father of one Shane said that the despite the seriousness of his injuries, he was determined to defy medical opinion and get out of his wheelchair as quickly as possible.
When his five month stay at the hospital was complete, he walked out of place with the aid of a crutch much to the amazement of its doctors and nurses.
"Everything was pushed to the limit that's the way I was through the whole lot. I only spent maybe five or six weeks in a wheelchair. I didn't want to be in it. Anything that was put in front of me I was out of it as quick as I could. They knew that I wasn't going to lie around. They were watching me full time when I had the crutch. I'd go off and there'd be war. I'd head to the toilet on my own. It was a full time job watching me."
Almost three years on from his accident, Shane, who recently filmed a video for the HSA to raise awareness about safety in the workplace, is still receiving physio three times a week. He has regained a lot mobility in his legs, and while he has regained a fair degree of mobility in his right arm, he has little or no power in his left.
Three months ago Shane reached a major milestone when he resumed driving. Set to marry his fiance Jean next April, he's determined to explore every avenue in his bid to return to "half normality" and recently sent his medical records to the world famous Mayo clinic in America. He is also looking into whether he may be suitable for stem cell treatment.
"As one lad said to me in Dun Laoghaire, it would be great to get back to maybe 60 or 70 per cent. Then I wondered before our accidents were any of us ever 100 per cent?
"I'm not giving up. I want to get back as best I can. I won't give up full stop. I'll always keep trying and chasing after. If I have to go America or Pakistan I will to try and get back half normality."
A fundraiser is being held in Mahon's Bar in Ballinagore on December to raise funds for Shane's treatment. Full of praise for the support he has received from his family, friends and the wider community, Shane says that they have helped him keep a positive attitude over the last three years.
"I never had one bad day, I just want to get back going. Anything that was put in front of me to do I just wanted to get through it. I still haven't had a bad day. What's done is done, you just have to get on with it. You can't turn back time or anything like that."
"...From when I woke up I said this wasn't going to beat me. I walked back into the surgeon with a stick, he said 'No, you're not Shane Gannon, you should be in a wheelchair'."