Westmeath man needs to travel to Vienna for vital surgery

A Moate man who was left with paralysis of the arm following a devastating motorbike accident is hopeful surgery in Vienna next month will be the first step to getting a robotic prosthetic and securing a better quality of life.

David Digan (38) from Ave Maria Park, Moate, spent three months in hospital and another three months in rehabilitation in Dublin following the crash on the motorway between Athlone and Moate back in May, 2019.

He has no memory of the accident and the first thing he remembers is waking up from an induced coma after two weeks in Tullamore hospital. David had suffered a catalogue of serious injuries, the main one being paralysis of his left arm, but he also broke his neck twice, his collarbone and his glenoid, that's the socket portion of the ball and socket joint in the shoulder blade while a plate was inserted on the humerus bone holding a minimum six fractures in place, the father of one explained.

His scapula bone was also fractured in the crash.

David, who worked for 12 years as a commercial diver, also has to deal with chronic pain on a daily basis.

Now, he is preparing to have a muscle and nerve transfer surgery in Vienna, the operation is not available in Ireland, and he is hopeful it will give him vital movement and sensory feeling in his arm.

While the cost of the surgery is covered by his hospital, David has set up a GoFundMe to help with the costs of getting to the Austrian capital, accommodation and any other costs over there. He will have to stay over in the city for ten days after the surgery.

Explaining the importance of the operation to his future, David detailed that they are going to take a muscle out of his leg and they will put that in the top of his forearm, above the elbow, and then they will connect that nerve to his shoulder nerve.

“What happens is when that muscle becomes active that will give a better quality of life because I'll be able to feel that movement, say pulling on a t-shirt say across the arm muscle,” said David, who explained that the muscle transfer is key for the other surgeries that will follow in the Mater afterwards – including a lower arm amputation that will lead to a prosthetic and a derotional osteotomy of the humerus bone on the affected arm.

“I'm struggling with everything. It's more so the silly things, the everyday things like peeling a potato, buttering a slice of bread, things like that. Trying to hang up clothes is a disaster or changing a bed, things like that.... tying your shoelace or even opening the front door when you have to turn with one hand and pull the handle with the other is tricky,” he said, describing his limitations at the minute.

An additional danger is cooking or being near heat because he can't feel hot or cold with the damaged arm and could be burned without realising. It then takes a long, long time to heal because the arm is essentially dead, outlined the Moate man.

His life changed physically and mentally in an instant, something that he admitted led to some very depressing moments, but thankfully, he has got through it, and music is something that helped him deal with his changed circumstances.

He still manages to spin records with one arm, he's a vinyl DJ, and has done techno/house or dance music sets for Tony Christie on Midlands 103 since coming out of hospital. He loves the analogue sound that vinyl provides.

Another thing that has helped him immensely is swimming. He previously was a member of Athlone Sub Aqua Club from the age of 13 or 14, and had worked as a commercial diver in countries like Denmark, France and Germany on various offshore projects.

“It's probably the only place I feel my old self,” David said of swimming and he tries to get into the pool as often as he can.

“I can move just as quick,” laughed David, and he even completed a charity swim for Athlone Sub Aqua Club swimming with just one arm from Hodson Bay to Athlone Castle last September, something which he's very proud of.

Talking to and video calling his beloved daughter Aibhlinn (5) also helped him through some dark times, and has given him the strength to adapt to a completely new life.

David also credited his career in diving as helpful in dealing with his circumstances, saying it was always about trying to do something differently or thinking outside the box, so he has tried to approach his injury in that way, and focus on the positive.

He thanked everyone who has donated to his GoFundMe page so far, the total stands at €5,200.

He also paid tribute to his consultant Dr Cronin in the Mater, his partner Avril O'Connell, who is a healthcare assistant in Tullamore hospital and will travel over with him in early October, his parents Sean and Anna Digan and all of the medical staff who have got him to this point.

“I'm hoping by this time next winter I will have the prosthetic arm fitted and it will be working well,” stated David, who said he plans to give talks in schools when he gets the prosthetic arm to normalise it and show children you can adapt to life well as an amputee.