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Swimming helps to restore sense of normality for Galway man left in a wheelchair after fall
Swimming is a therapeutic sport for many – but for one Galway man, being in the water is more than that; it’s empowering.
Sam Fleming is 36 years old and suffered a brain injury after falling off his bicycle close to his home in Kinvara when he was 20 years of age.
The severe head injury he obtained from this accident has resulted in Sam becoming a strong advocator for cyclists to wear helmets – something he wasn’t doing on the day of his accident.
Sam’s injury has had a monumental effect on his life. He is unable to walk and has been wheelchair-dependant since his fall. Several other brain functions have also been affected by the accident.
His brain injury “has screwed life up big time,” he said. After the accident, he lost his independence and now requires assistance for day-to-day living; “a wife would be good,” he joked.
While a wife would surely be a welcome addition to Sam’s life, it’s his family and friends who have helped him through tough times and stuck by him so far.
Following his accident, Sam has joined the Octopus Swimming Club in Kilcornan and attends pool sessions every Monday evening.
It was at these sessions that he got to know John Griffin who has been working with Sam since his accident.
“It was through [John] that I joined the club around five years ago and I’ve been a constant feature since then,” said his son, Dualta Griffin.
The Octopus Swimming Club was established by Mary Arrigan Langan in October of 1981. Its aim is to provide a facility where people who have a physical disability can get in the water and enjoy the benefits that it brings.
The club uses the Halliwick concept, which was designed to teach people with a physical disability to swim, helping them to become more independent in the water.
It was developed in England in the 1940s by a man called James McMillan, an engineer in fluidmechanics.
Mr McMillan’s main aims when developing this concept were participation and independence. Willingness to lose balance and knowing how to regain that balance and stand up again are core elements.
Halliwick is a structured programme that teaches participants to be happy in the water, helping them to gain some confidence and perhaps learn new skills.
The benefits are enormous, allowing freedom of movement in the water, giving participants a sense of independence while also giving them all the benefits of being active and partaking in a sports activity.
For Sam, the activity has given him the “feel good factor”. He has made many new friends along the way, but most importantly, he has started to walk in the water completely unaided.
“I feel I’ve benefited greatly from the Halliwick swimming – [I’m] more confident in the water. I can take a few steps unaided and that’s a great feeling for me,” Sam explained.
“It’s inspiring to see the others progressing as well. If it weren’t for Mary Arrigan, the organiser, and all the volunteers, people like me would have very little chance of ever being in the water,” he added.
Participants at the club experience a huge sense of empowerment when in the water. The activity boosts the cardiovascular system, helps swimmers control their balance, breathing and lung capacity while also strengthening the musculoskeletal structure.
Furthermore, once a person masters the art of swimming, there is no limit to the number of new activities they can undertake, from sailing and canoeing to water-skiing, scuba-diving and snorkelling.
The activity is also beneficial to the volunteers who get a huge sense of satisfaction from helping another person reach their full potential, while also benefiting their own lives.
“My time at this club has been very special to me. Spending time with Sam and the friends I have made, the craic I have had and the skills I have developed during the time at the club so far have been very special to me,” said Dualta Griffin who has recently started studying Physiotherapy in Limerick, largely thanks to his experience with the Octopus Swimming Club.
“I am constantly amazed by people’s progress in the water and have been lucky to see someone, who wouldn’t let go of the railing when they arrived, start swimming a basic stroke whilst completely submersing their head.
“I believe that everyone involved gets a lot from being part of the club and part of this is due to their determination to improve their skills in the water whilst enjoying their time there,” he added.
Mr Griffin stressed the importance of helping people to develop skills in the water and said this has been very rewarding for him, resulting in a desire to work professionally in this area.
“I am now studying Physiotherapy in UL and I have the people in the club to thank for giving me the belief in myself and passion to pursue this career path and I look forward to spending time there again during my holidays,” he said.
If you are interested in finding out more about the club, contact Breda Ansboro on 086 358 9365 or visit www.octopusswimmingclub.com. You can also like the Octupus Swimming Club on Facebook.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
On the eve of completing his 150th marathon, an odyssey that has taken him across 53 countries, Loughrea’s Marathon Man has announced that he is planning to hang up his running shoes.
But not before Jarlath Fitzgerald completes another ten races, making it 160 marathons on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
“I want to draw the line in 2026. I turn 57 in October and when I reach 60 it’s the finishing line. The longer races are taking it out of me. I did 20 miles there two weeks ago and didn’t feel good. It’s getting harder,” he reveals.
“I’ve arthritis in both hips and there’s wear and tear in the knees.”
We speak as he is about to head out for a run before his shift in Supervalu Loughrea. Despite his physical complaints, he still clocks up 30 miles every second week and generally runs four days a week.
Jarlath receives injections to his left hip to keep the pain at bay while running on the road.
To give his joints a break, during the winter he runs cross country and often does a five-mile trek around Kylebrack Wood.
He is planning on running his 150th marathon in Cork on June 4, where a group of 20 made up of work colleagues, friends and running mates from Loughrea Athletics Club will join him.
Some are doing the 10k, others are doing the half marathon, but all will be there on the finishing line to cheer him on in the phenomenal achievement.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
