A Leeton farmer has made an enormous donation to a Sydney hospital last week as part of his ongoing philanthropic crusade.
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Brian Walsh made the trip to Macquarie University Hospital to donate a NeuroNode, a piece of equipment that changed his son's life for the better.
Mr Walsh's son Dean was rendered quadriplegic back in 2012 when his car crashed on his way home from a fishing trip.
"He was in a very bad state," Mr Walsh said. "We nearly lost him several times."
For many weeks, he could only breathe through a respirator in a surgical incision in his throat, and was unable to communicate with anyone around him.
Then two years ago, Dean's family and carers learned about NeuroNode, which picks up the tiny electrical signals inside a muscle and turns them into controls for an iPad, or iPhone, or personal computer.
"When we got a NeuroNode in to let Dean try it, he took to it right away," Mr Walsh said. "For the first time he was able to respond to questions about how he was feeling."
The NeuroNode changed Dean's life, so much so that Mr Walsh decided to try and provide the system for others who could not afford it, or who did not quality for government funds.
"I figured that since the BIRU at Liverpool Hospital and their staff did such a great job caring for Dean early on, that they should be the first to get a NeuroNode," he said.
He donated $16,500 for a new NeuroNode; and in 2017, he went with the founder of Control Bionics, Peter Ford, to present the unit.
A year later Mr Walsh decided to help another hospital to present a second NeuroNode to Westmead Children's Hospital.
Last week, Mr Walsh flew to Sydney with his partner Chris, and one of Dean's carers, Kristal Ashcroft, to present a third unit to Macquarie University Hospital.
"This device helps out amazingly well to connect Dean to all of us," Mr Walsh said. "Now we want to do as much as we can to help others benefit from this NeuroNode technology."
He plans to continue raising funds for more donations: inspired by the care provided to his son, and seeking to turn a tragedy into an extraordinary program of philanthropy.