Fundraising run just six months after brain surgery

Just over six months after having open brain surgery to deal with an extremely serious threat to his life, 32-year-old Mount Temple native John Dolan is taking on a 100-mile running challenge to raise funds for neurosurgical research at Beaumont Hospital.

John is son of Tommy and Ann Dolan, and he has four sisters, Nicola, Lorraine, Caroline and Emma. 
A former pupil of Mount Temple NS and Moate Community School, John was a popular player with Caulry for many years, prior to moving to the east coast, where he was captain with St Brendan's of Grangegorman up to the incident on September 8.
On September 8 last, John, suffered an unprovoked and prolonged seizure whilst asleep in their new home in Clane, Co. Kildare, which he shares with his partner Karen Heverin from Galway. 
Amazingly, there were no indicators of any brain issues prior to the seizure which Karen described as being traumatic to witness.
After the initial scans, Beaumont Hospital, the National Neurosurgical Centre, was consulted and he received the devastating diagnosis that he had an Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM) and an aneurysm in his brain which necessitated swift craniotomy (open brain) surgery.
An AVM is a very rare disease affecting less than one per cent of the population. It is a complex, tangled web of arteries and veins. 
It posed a very serious threat to John’s life with risks including brain haemorrhage, stroke, brain injury causing disability and the potential loss of life.
John remembers very little about the incident except waking up to hear Karen talk of an ambulance and finding himself very sore and experiencing severe whiplash-type injuries. 
He remained in hospital for about a week.

In November 2018, they met with Consultant Neurosurgeon Mr Mohsen Javadpour, the man whom they credit as being pivotal in John’s life story. 

Mr Javadpour explained that John’s risk of brain haemorrhage and brain injury would increase year on year particularly due to the presence of the aneurysm. Because of the large size of John’s AVM, there was only one viable treatment option which was a craniotomy.
Karen explains: “This treatment had the highest chance of a full recovery but also it posed the highest risk to John’s quality of life providing he survived surgery.”
Despite the stark news, John said, after meeting Mr Javadpour, “It was like a weight lifted off our shoulders”.
John explained he and Karen felt comfortable and assured from their first meeting with Mr Javadpour who was honest and explained the options clearly.
For Karen, who had witnessed the seizure, it was an extremely worrying period, watching over John whom she described as “a ticking time bomb”, as he waited for the surgery, which took place in Beaumont Hospital on February 1 last.
After an operation that lasted eight and a half hours, John was returned to the ward with a successful removal of the AVM and aneurysm where he was met by Karen, his mother Ann and his sisters.
Unfortunately, his recovery was not without complications and he suffered a brain haemorrhage two days later, but thanks both to the wonderful nurses and Mr Javadpour’s team he was very carefully monitored, and a second surgery was avoided.
John was bedridden for what was a very difficult five days before he began to show signs of improvement. Thankfully his determination kicked in, his recovery took off and he was discharged home a mere 12 days later.
The intervening year has been an emotional rollercoaster for the couple, their families and friends. As Karen succinctly explained: “It could have gone either way”. Thankfully, John has come through a gruelling and complicated surgery and is back to full health.
And to mark the first anniversary of John’s seizure and raise research funding, John is planning to run 100 miles in the last month of what has been the challenge of a lifetime.
He had a recovery period of over three months in total before he started a new chapter of his life and a new job. This process of recovery began with short walks and lots of rest.
“I was itching to get back into exercising, but my body wouldn’t allow it,” John explained.
Amazingly, there have been no side effects with John suffering no loss of cognitive function only superficial “bumps and hollows” on his skull.
For John and Karen, the entire experience has crystallised two things; how much they owe Mr Javadpour, Beaumont Hospital and all the medical and ambulance personnel and how important it is to cherish the crucial things in life, family, friends, relationships and normality.
John said he gained a new perspective on life. “When things get tough, you figure out quickly what’s important and who’s important to you”.
While Karen said if it wasn’t for the confidence and talent of the neurosurgical unit in Beaumont, particularly Mr Javadpour’s team, John might never have had a chance.
“Due to the size of his AVM, we were told many neurosurgeons in Ireland and the UK would not have operated on John’s AVM so we are beyond thankful,” Karen explains.
After being advised against physical contact sports, John took up running to help rebuild his fitness and joined Clane Athletic Club where he hit upon the idea of running 100 miles as a fundraiser to mark his recovery and to express their gratitude to the team in Beaumont hospital.
Already, John has over 25 miles completed, and he is well on the way to raising €10,000, just three months after his recovery process was complete.
All funds raised will go directly to the joint research team of Mr Javadpour and Professor Niall Pender to provide more information on treatments performed on patients like John who have blood vessel abnormalities in the brain.
Currently a lot of the research concentrates only on the physical recovery of patients, whereas more knowledge on the cognitive and psychological outcome of patients is needed.
Both John and Karen are extremely grateful for the support of family and friends and all who supported the fundraiser to date.
There has been much support for John and his 100 mile challenge from his home place in South Westmeath. During his recovery there were well wishes, mass cards and prayers gratefully received from the people of Mount Temple whilst Fr PJ led prayers for John before his surgery.
John’s mother and sisters are planning to host a local coffee morning for the fundraiser in September which they would greatly appreciate support for.
To donate search for John’s Fundraiser for Neurosurgical Research or John Dolan on www.gofundme.ie and on Facebook.