*Aoife Cahill.
FUNDS are being raised to try bring a Killaloe woman home from Vietnam after she sustained a serious accident while travelling.
Twenty nine year old Aoife Cahill sustained serious injuries from a fall while rock climbing in Vietnam on Friday. She has undergone brain surgery and remains in an induced coma.
Across Tuesday and Wednesday, medics will attempt to get Aoife breathing on her own.
As she is receiving treatment, Aoife is on her own with none of her loved ones by her side, she was due to meet friends in Thailand and they have since attempted to secure Visas to gain access to Vietnam. This is among the reasons why a GoFundMe page has been set up, to try raise funds to get Aoife’s father Martin to Vietnam to be by his daughter’s side. The funds raised will also go towards Aoife’s emergency and ongoing medical care in Vietnam, hospital and specialist treatment costs, medical transportation and repatriation to bring her home, associated travel and logistical expenses.
Aoife has been living in Australia for the past three years, her trip to Vietnam was during her Christmas holidays.
Living in Clonfadda in Killaloe, the Cahills have endured a tough year. Aoife’s mother Janette died exactly a year to the day before her fall, following a short illness.
Her father Martin and brother Ruairí both lined out for Smith O’Briens while her sister Gráinne is a nurse at University Hospital Limerick. The regard for the Cahill family has been evident with just over €28,000 raised within a day of the fundraiser going live.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Aoife’s friend Ciara Collins outlined, “she went over to Vietnam for her Christmas break and was going onto Thailand to meet her friends for Christmas. She is well known in Killaloe for being a bubbly, kind hearted girl”. She attended Convent Primary School and St Anne’s Community College, both in Killaloe.
Having previously worked in hospitality in 101 O’Connell Street and Smyth’s Icon in Limerick, Aoife then worked as a secretary for a medical consultant at UHL before relocating to Australia. “She went to Austalia to travel, she is adventurous and loves to be outdoors. It was a freak accident which happened to her and our main goal is to try get her well and get her back home. Financially this can help take the burden off the family and let them focus on Aoife’s care, that is our main goal,” Ciara explained.
Medics are happy with how the surgery went and will attempt to reduce her sedation over the coming days, Ciara confirmed. She noted that it is difficult to maintain communication as they are relying solely on the hospital for updates as opposed to linking in with family or friends. “They are saying it is a long road ahead, they are positive they can get her awake, but they know it is a long journey, it is too hard to tell really at this stage”.
Having her nearest and dearest by her side would help with initial recovery, Ciara maintained. “If she had her Dad to hold her hand beside her it would make a difference. We’re all behind her and with her but it is heart-breaking to have her so far away, if it was only an hour or two of a flight then we’d be right there but it is the other side of the world so it is heart-breaking to not be there with her”.
To donate to the GoFundMe – CLICK HERE
