| Irish man wakes from coma, Mary McKillop praised |
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| Written by Administrator | |
| Monday, 13 April 2009 00:00 | |
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AN Irish man left for dead on a Sydney street after being bashed so badly he was unrecognisable has woken up in hospital from an eight-month coma.
David Keohane was found lying with serious head injuries on Brook St at Coogee, in Sydney's east, in the early hours of August 9, 2008. The 29-year-old, who had been working as a flooring contractor, was taken to Prince of Wales Hospital before his family flew him home to Ireland in September. His parents' bedside vigil at Cork University Hospital was rewarded on St Patrick's Day when he woke up. A hospital spokeswoman couldn't say how long Mr Keohane would need to stay in hospital, but doctors were hopeful of his continuing recovery. "It's great news,'' she said. "He's stable and continues to improve.'' A family friend said Mr Keohane was so far unaware of what had happened to him but was agitated when he first woke up. "He's awake, he's talking, he's recognising everyone,'' the family friend, who wasn't named, told Irish newspaper the Evening Herald. "He was looking at pictures and he could tell who everyone was, which was amazing.'' Another friend, Seamus Collins, said Mr Keohane's family had prayed to Mary MacKillop every day, believed his recovery was a miracle, and would write to the Pope. The Australian nun has been beatified after the Catholic church recognised one miracle in her name, with two miracles needed for her to attain sainthood. "She has a little prayer that you can devote for strength and everything and she kind of blessed him and I think the father Tom and his mother Rita were very supportive of her and I think they're devoting the strength of his waking up towards her,'' Mr Collins told ABC online. Three people have been charged over the attack and are before the courts. Bankstown man Thomas Isaako, 19, has been charged with attempting to murder Mr Keohane and aggravated robbery with wounding. His 20-year-old girlfriend has been charged with hindering police and concealing a serious offence. A 39-year-old man is charged with hindering police and concealing a serious offence. Police are also looking for a fourth person they want to interview over the attack, 19-year-old New Zealander Kane Desmond Tupuolamaoui.
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