MARK McGOVERN MADE headlines in June when an alleged assault during a Gaelic football match in San Francisco left him comatose, with a low likelihood of recovery.
The 23-year-old defied the odds, however, first to regain consciousness and then begin a rehabilitative programme, at which he has thus far excelled.
Speaking for the first time since the incident, the Belcoo native told the BBC that, in retrospect, it was “amazing that [he] even came out of [the coma]“.
“One of my doctors told me that I was 97.5% dead… At that stage I really really did think of it as a miracle how bad I was.“I never even knew how bad a shape I was until I was speaking to the doctor.”
In the weeks since he woke from the coma, McGovern has had to relearn a host of basic skills, including walking and talking, but appears on track to make a full recovery.
Though his prognosis is a positive one, the player’s family will likely have to continue their fundraising efforts: McGovern’s medical costs comfortably exceed $1 million.
Patrick Power, the player deemed responsible for the original off-the-ball incident, received a 96-week ban from the San Francisco Competition Controls Committee and was reported to have been questioned by the San Francisco Police Department.
