Clonmel based Polish family suffer horrendous ordeal
A long-awaited holiday to their native Poland for the Deyna family living in Clonmel has turned into an horrific nightmare.
The family who live in the Old Bridge in Clonmel were so much looking forward to their trip to Gdansk to visit family for the first time since before the Covid pandemic arrived but it quickly turned into an unimaginable disaster.
A leisurely cycle on July 25 for 40-year-old Krystian and his daughter eleven-year-old Carmen, who is a pupil at the Sisters of Charity School in Clonmel, became a life changing event for the family.
Krystian, a keen cyclist, fell off his bicycle while travelling downhill when his tyre burst and suffered horrendous injuries. Before he underwent life saving brain surgery his family were told that he may not make it through the surgery.
A traumatised Carmen rang her older sister Oliwia, who did not go on the cycle, to tell her that her father had been in an awful accident. His wife Maja, a Department of Agriculture vet who had stayed in Ireland as she was unable to go on the holiday, was told the awful news and left Clonmel immediately for Poland.
ELECTRICIAN
The Clonmel-based industrial electrician and his family moved to the town over a year ago from Thurles when Oliwia enrolled as an animation student at the LIT campus in the town.
Oliwia arrived back in Clonmel on Monday with her sister Carmen so that they can both return to classes at the Sisters of Charity and at LIT. Oliwia said that her father was in a coma for three weeks after having had two brain surgeries.He spoke his first word since the accident before she left for Ireland.He is able to recognise his wife, who has stayed on in Poland, and his daughters. He has some movement in his legs and fingertips which has given some hope to the family.
“We were having a great holiday and Dad suggested going for a cycle. I could not go so Dad went with Carmen. Twenty minutes later I received the phone call from Carmen who was crying,”said Oliwia.
“We knew it was very serious. Dad, who was not wearing a helmet, hit his head. We were told to expect the worst. He spoke a word before we left. We asked him who we were and he squeezed our hand and said daughter,” said Oliwia.
Krystian was discharged from hospital on Monday of last week and is now in a rehabilitation centre.
GOFUNDME
Oliwia set up a GoFundMe page to ask friends to support the family at this difficult time.
“We have no idea how long he will have to stay in rehab and it will cost €5,000 a month and they have no idea of what equipment he will need. We do need support at this time,” she said.
“It is still so hard to believe this has happened. Our lives have changed so much in minutes. I would ask people to be aware of the fact to go out and enjoy every day as you never know when something like this can happen and everything changes,” said Oliwia.