The Comeback Kid hits the airwaves

ARDRAHAN resident and documentary producer John Hearne brings his latest production to Radio 1 this weekend, where he documents the life of Monivea man Shane Mullins since being involved in a serious car accident in 2005.
The documentary, The Comeback Kid, will be broadcast on Saturday at 2pm.

Shane has a brain injury and now gives talks on his experiences and mental health issues to colleges and schools.

Outlining the premise of the documentary, John said, “At 1.45am on October 16, 2005, 17-year-old Shane Mullins left the local pub in Abbeyknockmoy, County Galway with one of his friends. They had both been drinking since 7pm the previous evening. Shane climbed into the driver’s seat of his car and set off towards home in Monivea. He lost control of the car not far from the pub. When it hit a ditch and rolled into a field, Shane’s head came into violent contact with a concrete pillar. As his friend climbed unscathed from the wreck to raise the alarm, Shane fell into a coma.”

He was rushed to hospital and his friends and family were told to prepare for the worst. He spent three months in hospital and three more in the National Rehabilitation Centre in Dun Laoghaire.

“He is now blind in one eye, has limited co-ordination, reduced mobility and suffers from many of the cognitive impairments that go with brain injury. Despite these obstacles, Shane is now touring the country, talking in schools and colleges about his experiences since that night. He’s developed a self-help programme, which he calls D’MESS, designed to help young people face and fight their own demons. Each letter stands for a word – Determination, Motivation, Emotional, Support and Social life. In his talks, Shane discusses each heading in turn, explaining how he used his system to bring himself back from depression and alcohol dependency,” John explained.

In his fight to regain his independence, Shane faces each new obstacle with humour and honesty. His problems with balance frequently lead to confrontations with the law.

In the documentary, Shane says, “I’ve been pulled over about 800 times. It’s people in shops reporting me or other drivers. They see me wobbling into the car. Obviously, they think I’ve been drinking.”

John concluded, “In this documentary, we follow Shane as he works to turn the self-help system he’s developed into a business. He also takes a personal journey back through what happened to him seven years ago. For the first time, he talks to those who were there that night, together with the medical professionals who contributed to his recovery. He returns to the scene of the accident to confront the reality of what happened to him, to accept it and move on with his life.”

The documentary is produced and narrated by John Hearne, production supervision is by Sarah Blake and sound supervision by Mark McGrath.