A DUNDALK man says he is 'lucky to be alive' after surviving a series of strokes, brain haemorrhages and a brain tumour the size of an orange.

Now Keith McGahon, son of former Fine Gael TD Brendan McGahon, is aiming to raise awareness of acquired brain injuries to prevent others from going through what he has faced over the last ten years.

'It began for me back in 1999 or 2000, when I first started to get really severe headaches. This went on for a few years, and then one day I collapsed,' he explained.

After being rushed to hospital, doctors diagnosed a brain tumour which had grown to around the size of an orange.

But Keith says he could have been treated earlier for the tumour had he recognised the early warning signs.

'I had the tumour removed, but this left me deaf in my left ear.

Within a few weeks of being released, Keith suffered the first of three strokes.

'Each stroke I took caused more damage to my brain, and I was left paralysed along my left side.'

Intensive physiotherapy saw him regain use of his left leg, but he continued to suffer paralysis in his arm.

Eager to return to work, Keith began to get back to his business on a part-time basis.

But his health problems soon returned, leading to a fall that fractured his skull.

'The fall caused me to have a series of brain haemorrhages. I really don't know how I survived.'

In the next year, he suffered further health problems when his hip gave way again, and after he was struck by a car which led to the fourth brain haemorrhage in less than a year.

Miraculously Keith has fought his way back to good health, and is now hoping to use his own experiences to work with people who have acquired brain injuries.

He hopes to work as a counsellor with the Acquired Brain Injury Advocacy Association known as 'Bri Ireland' and encourages anyone locally who feels they need support to attend meetings of the Dundalk branch.

• The next meeting of Bri Ireland (Dundalk) will be held on Monday next in the Red Cross Hall, Jocelyn Street, at 7.30pm.

- Olivia RYAN