A young Donegal man who was viciously beaten in an attempted murder bid is ‘shocking’ his loved ones with his incredible recovery.
Charles Dooher, 26, was left with a traumatic brain injury when he was beaten by five masked men armed with iron batons at his home on the Coneyburrow Road, Lifford in January.
Ten weeks on, Charles’ recovery has stunned medics.
Having moved out of ICU one month ago, he will be “back to himself in time”, according to his friend Paddy Gillespie.
“Cha is doing so well,” Paddy said. “He can walk, talk, he can remember us all and all the laughs we’ve had together. Me and the boys have just been going over older funny stories with him in hospital and he remembers them all. He has a lot of positive things to look forward to now.”
Charles, who suffered a shattered skull in the attack, will soon be getting a skull plate inserted.
“We are all delighted with how this story turned in his favour,” said Paddy.
Charlotte Gallen with boyfriend Charles Dooher
The challenge involved conquering the equivalent of Mount Everest’s height, 8,849 metres, through three monthly challenges.
Paddy took on two of these challenges – road cycling uphill, accumulating the 8,849-metre elevation of Everest as well as swimming the distance up and down the equivalent of Everest’s height, a total of 17.70 kilometres.
The third part of the challenge was completed by Charlotte, Deborah, Aine and Tania, who did 44,250 steps – the number of steps it takes to reach the summit of Everest.
“It has been a rollercoaster of emotions. Lots of days worth of cycling and swimming have gone into this fundraiser,” said Paddy.
“And as the days/weeks and now months progressed, Cha has shocked us all. He’s gone from strength to strength.
“I’m so glad that we all did this for him. Everyone who participated, shared, donated. That Cha now has these funds and will live to use them. To regain the life he almost had stolen from him.”
The Everesting fund has so far raised over €16,100, just shy of the €18,000 target.
In closing the challenge, Paddy has made one last appeal for donations to the GoFundMe at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/everesting-8849m-challenge-for-charles-dooher
Two men were arrested in the Derry area in January by detectives from PSNI’s Serious Crime Branch over the murder bid but were later released without charge.
Gardaí are continuing with their attempted murder inquiry in relation to the attack on Charles and his father, also named Charles, who suffered less serious injuries.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Letterkenny Garda Station on 074 9167100, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.
Tags: