An Irishman has been hospitalised after suffering serious injuries in a freak rugby accident in Mexico.
Nicholas Leen sustained an injury to his midriff and was stretchered off the pitch and later rushed to hospital with Severe Traumatic Acute Pancreatitis
His family and friends described the injury as a “freak and unfortunate accident”. They have now launched a Go Fund Me page for Nick, who is a teacher from Kerry, to raise €50,000 to pay for his medical treatment.
His cousin Aileen said: “I’m fundraising for my cousin Nick, from Ballyduff in Kerry, after he was in an unfortunate accident whilst playing rugby in Mexico. Nick has been in Mexico for almost two years, working as a language and literature teacher at an international school.
“In late May, Nick was playing a rugby match and was injured from a tackle that was freak and unfortunate. He took a hit to his abdomen and had to be stretchered off the pitch.
“He was taken to the local hospital and later transferred to a hospital in Mexico City in an ambulance where he has been diagnosed with Severe Traumatic Acute Pancreatitis.”
Just over €10,000 of the €50,000 target has been raised so far to help cover Nick’s soaring medical costs. Aileen said: “Nick has undergone two surgeries and a third or fourth cannot be ruled out.
“He is currently intubated to help manage severe pain and high fevers and we expect him to be intubated for a further two to three days. He has been in an ICU for almost two weeks and we expect him to be there for two more weeks. Most probably a two-month hospital stay in total.
“The doctors and surgeons have been great and have said Nick will make a 100 per cent recovery. He does, however, have a long road ahead of him. Once Nick is out of hospital, he will have a long road ahead of him in regards to recovery and we hope to be able to get him home to Ireland.
“Nick’s brother Derek has taken time off work and flew out to be by his side every step of the way, along with his girlfriend Monica who has been a blessing.
“His mother and father also are taking it in turns to fly out to be there with him while he recovers in hospital. Even when he is okay to go home, he will not be able to fly for several months unaided by medical supervision. My aim is to raise money to help Nick’s recovery cost, both during and post his hospital care.”
The fundraiser for Nick can be found by clicking here
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