GAA footballer Mark McGovern's misfortune at least occurred in a fortunate place.
McGovern ended up in a coma after an incident involving another player at a San Francisco game last June. He was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital where the available treatment, as it turns out, was the very best in the U.S.
"San Francisco General has become the first hospital in the country to gain certification for the treatment of traumatic brain injury, a recognition that is expected to set the standard for other hospitals around the country," the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The hospital, which received national attention for caring for Giants fan Bryan Stow after he was brutally beaten, received the certification after an intensive on-site visit by the Joint Commission, a national independent organization that accredits hospitals and offers disease-specific certifications, the paper reported.
"In addition to Stow, who was attacked outside Dodger Stadium on March 31, other recent high-profile injuries include Ryan White, a 9-year-old Pennsylvania boy who was struck by a suspected drunken driver after a Giants game in August, and Gaelic football player Mark McGovern, who was knocked unconscious during a game in June," the report added.
But the best costs. McGovern's medical bill is now in the region of $1 million and there is an ongoing effort to raise funds to meet the bills for the Fermanagh man, who is out of his coma and recuperating at the Laguna Honda Rehabilitation Center.
