A Dublin based woman who suffered serious injuries after falling from a bike is trying to find the Good Samaritans who came to her aid.
Sharon was cycling home on September 17 at around 10: 30 pm when she suddenly collapsed from her bike. She suffered serious injuries as a result of the nasty fall, including six skull fractures and a bleed on the brain.
She briefly regained consciousness and realised that her head was being held in a stranger’s lap to stop the excessive bleeding. She could barely breathe but was in too much shock to realise the full extent of her injuries.
READ MORE: Mum left paralysed after Dublin shooting says young daughter has 'bad panic attacks and nightmares'
Sharon told Dublin Live: “It looks like I was cycling in the bus lane and when I went unconscious I probably hit the kerb and went onto the footpath because that’s where I was found. There was blood all over the footpath coming from my scalp and my eye. I hit my head with the full force of my body weight.”
Luckily, the incident occurred about 100 metres away from St Vincent’s Hospital and an ambulance was called almost immediately. One of the men at the scene told her he would lock her bike, which was on the footpath, onto a nearby pole. He dropped a note with the bike’s location on Merrion Road for her in her handbag, alongside the keys.
Sharon only saw the note this weekend as her recovery from her head injury remains ongoing. She was hospitalised for two weeks following incident. She was a week into her hospitalisation when her sodium levels dropped to a dangerously low threshold, which is a common but serious side effect of head injuries.
She continues to receive GP care following her ordeal but is now in a position to reach out to the people who assisted her that night. The kindly strangers' support meant everything to her when she was at her most vulnerable.
“I didn’t see the faces of the people because I was too out of it, I didn’t get their names," she said. "They could have been working in the hospital, I don’t know anything about them. They stayed with me till the ambulance came.”
She added: “Someone could have potentially come along and stolen my bag, my mother’s engagement ring. I had no control over what anyone would do. But this shows there are decent, kind people out there and that is really comforting during a time of need.”
The cyclist is now taking a break in order to recover fully from her injuries. She had suffered from a collapse at home about three weeks prior to the event, which has led to several health investigations since her hospitalisation.
Sharon took to Twitter to share images of the note she received from one of her helpers as she wants to thank them personally for assisting her. It has already been retweeted 500 times and she is hopeful the traction will help her find the people at the scene. The original note she received was scrawled on the back of medical mask packaging, as seen in the photo below.
She added: “I could’ve been there till the morning and no one would have seen me because it was dark. I was on the footpath and the lights of my bike could’ve been knocked out. I could have died. I am very grateful people took the time to stop and help me.”
And she also extended her thanks to the medical staff at St Vincent’s and also St James's hospitals who assisted her after the traumatic injury. She continues to recover from the incident and hopes to provide her helpers with an update on how she is doing.
READ MORE
Social welfare Ireland: Thousands to receive first double payment today
Stephen Donnelly warns mandatory mask wearing on the cards ahead of Covid spike
Social welfare Ireland: Thousands to receive first double payment toda
The five 'vampire appliances' skyrocketing your energy bill by up to €655 and how to stop them
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox.
