Mullingar mother of assault victim takes on marathon to support ABI

Ballymahon runner Phyllis Baker (a native of Mullingar) is training for the Dublin Marathon on October 29 to raise funds for Acquired Brain Injury Ireland (ABI), and has so far passed the €10,000 mark.

The mother-of-two has a personal connection to the charity as her son Zac Martin (20) was the victim of an unprovoked assault in Ballymahon in November 2021.

Phyllis said: “You hear of these assaults but you don’t think it will come to your own door. It was quite a shock.”

Following the assault, Zac was taken to hospital in Mullingar, and he deteriorated rapidly. Phyllis and her husband Paul, who is from Glasson, were called in to the hospital to be informed that he was being transferred to Beaumont Hospital. Staff told them that they should be very worried about Zac.

“At that point, I had gone into shock. I didn’t think he would make it. The team of people it takes to save a life – it’s incredible.”

Zac then underwent emergency surgery in Beaumont as the left side of his brain had moved in to the right side. Phyllis said it was only hours after Zac’s surgery that they realised he had been assaulted.

“Our focus was on our son to get him well and get him home. Zac has had to learn to deal with fatigue and psychological issues and suffered with anxiety and night terrors following the assault.

“He had a lot of issues with motivation and setting goals. He’s recently been more relaxed and able to concentrate.

“Time and support have been everything. Zac needed three brain surgeries in five months and is now going through rehabilitation with ABI. He is learning to live with his brain injury,” said Phyllis.

The first surgery was done to remove pressure from Zac’s brain, as his skull was fractured, and the second was to physically flush out a serious infection in the skull. A large part of Zac’s skull had to be removed and cleaned out to remove the infected part.

The final surgery entailed putting in a special piece made for Zac’s skull.

“The long hours of waiting for the surgeries are torture. He’s come through a lot and hasn’t an angry bone in his body. He sees it like he’s got a second chance in life.”

Zac is now hoping to go to college and study sound engineering at TUS in Athlone as he loves music.

On why she decided to raise funds for ABI and to undertake a marathon, Phyllis said: “I wanted to show my son, by example, if you make a plan you can make a difference. He has started to run as well, and ran a 5k in Roscommon recently.”

Phyllis’s father Noel passed away due to complications from a brain tumour six months before Zac was assaulted. He was diagnosed with the tumour in 2017 but his surgery did not remove all of it and when he woke up he was paralysed on his right side.

He spent four months in Beaumont followed by three months in the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dun Laoghaire and had to learn to walk again twice.

Phyllis feels that rehabilitation was not there for him when he came out of hospital. “They’re discharged from hospital and there’s nowhere to go,” she said.

The Mullingar native said she got such comfort and peace of mind from knowing that ABI services exist. “I visited the one (facility) in Mountbolus. It’s a fabulous service.”

Phyllis had training with ABI to learn how to administer an IV and various medication. “We learned so much about it (rehabilitation) and about how doing small things and tracking can help.”

Phyllis added that a brain injury doesn’t just happen to the person – it affects the whole family. By having proper community rehabilitation, 42 bed days could be saved nationwide, she said. “I want to show that brain injury can happen to anyone. It happens to 52 people every day in Ireland, that’s 19,000 people every year. Each one of those people is unique and their brain injury is unique. For Daddy it was a brain tumour at 63. For Zac it was an assault at 19.”

“It brings an awful lot of worry to a house; when I hear about assault, I think about the time we spent in Beaumont. It’s like a grief, thinking if he will ever be the same person again.”

Phyllis said there are no private rehab services in Ireland and there are huge waiting lists. “I think it’s such a shame because it really works. Rehab works, it changes lives and gives people back their independence.”

Many of Phyllis’s friends have also been helping with her fundraising efforts. A bake sale was held in Tullamore Hospital on April 6 and her friends Darren and Karen Mulledy are doing a 130km charity cycle on Saturday July 1 from Maynooth to Clondra in Ballymahon. Darren and Mike Egan have also organised the Ballymahon Nifty’s & Motorbike fun run on Sunday July 16 in support of the fundraiser.

A group will also be climbing Croagh Patrick on Saturday June 17 and Phyllis will be abseiling down Smithfield Tower on Saturday April 29.

“The funds are one thing; awareness is another. A lot of people feel so lost when trying to pick up the pieces after life has changed. We didn’t know about ABI for my own Dad. I have huge compassion for people and admire those trying to get their lives back.”

“I have a lot of work ahead of me. I’m determined because I wanted to do something that took effort and show people that I really do value every donation. Running reminds me of rehabilitation. You have to take it one step at a time. Nobody can do the work for you, but it’s the support that keeps you going.

“I never thought my fundraiser would go over €10,000. I really do have a passion for this.”

To donate to Phyllis’s fundraiser go to GoFundMe.