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Dr Caitlin O’Connor who suffered serious injuries in a car crash back in September. File Photo
A TRALEE-based doctor who broke her neck in a car accident back in September has thanked the community for their support and prayers over the past number of months.
Dr Caitlin O’Connor, originally from Ballyduff, spoke to Radio Kerry’s Deirdre Walsh on the Talkabout show this afternoon and described the accident and its aftermath.
The GP, who is based in Tralee Medical Centre in St Brendan’s Park, told how she was travelling in a car with her husband Colm and two daughters on the main Tralee to Dingle Road to her home in west Kerry, on Sunday, September 13, when they had a serious car accident.
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Colm broke his leg but Caitlin’s injuries were much more serious as she banged her head and broke bones in her neck. Luckily, the two children escaped uninjured.
“Our two angels literally did not get a scratch during the accident which we are phenomenally grateful for,” she told Deirdre. “If we were up and down to Temple Street or Crumlin it would be a different story.”
Caitlin’s situation was very serious though.
“There were very real concerns for me,” she said. “I sustained a bang to my head. I lost all awareness, I was lying on the road. Everyone said the ambulance was there in no time at all which was just fantastic,” said Caitlin, who went on to say the ambulance service saved her life and that she is indebted to them.
She also praised the staff of Kerry General Hospital for the care they gave her when she arrived.
Her condition was so serious that she was anointed on the Sunday night and put into an induced coma for three or four days. After that, while she was still disoriented, she was able to talk which was a huge step for her.
It was a long road to recovery.
“I broke my neck so they were worried about that until it healed, so that was up until very recently – they were allowing 12 weeks for that fracture healing – so I was liable to breaking my neck again during that time.”
The fact that Caitlin was pregnant during the ordeal (and still is) was also a huge concern, but the baby may be helping her recover as she told Radio Kerry.
“It’s very possible that the hormones and all the various chemicals involved with being pregnant could be helping my healing, believe it or not…I’m just delighted to be pregnant and please God the baby will be ok and will walk away from the whole incident as well.”
Caitlin, who is now back on her feet, wanted to express her thanks to all the people from the various communities in Tralee and Ballyduff who have supported her and her family through the past few months.
“I genuinely think that my recovery has been literally divine. It has been prayer dependent, so from that point of view I want to say a huge thank you to everybody who thought of us and prayed for us at that time and still are thank God.” • You can listen to Caitlin’s full interview with Radio Kerry’s Deirdre Walsh by clicking here
