'I shouldn't be sitting here'... Meath man tells of life-long impact of drink-driving
A Meath man who lost an arm and leg in a crash in 2018 said he is an example of the life-long impact of drink-driving.
James Murtagh was injured in the single vehicle crash near Navan and is currently an inpatient at the National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) in Dún Laoghaire in Dublin.
"I nearly lost my life," said Mr Murtagh, speaking to RTE News about drink-driving and the terrible impact its had on him.
Mr Murtagh's left leg had to be amputated with extensive damage done to his right leg. The 30 year-old also lost one of his arms in the accident.
He was found lying on the ground outside of the vehicle after the accident with his arm still inside of the vehicle.
"I'd highly advise people not to be doing that. You see the damage that it can do to you, what it does to your family, it will make you realise how stupid you’d be."
The injuries he sustained were not immediately noticeable to him as he could not sit up in hospital and could not remember the crash, he said.
"I shut everybody out for a couple of days, just to get my own head around it. I cried for two or three days straight," said Mr Murtagh.
He added: "It took a toll on me... Once I realised I was going to live, anything else that came after that was just a bonus. I'm on bonus time.
"I shouldn't even be sitting here."
Mr Murtagh was first admitted to the NRH in 2019, having first spent over half a year in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin.
His initial stay at the NRH was two months.
"I had a young child. It was too hard being away from her during the week. I already missed out on so much of her life being in hospital for that many months, so I left earlier than I should have," he said.
Most patients at the NRH have a life-long association with the hospital, and Mr Murtagh was re-admitted recently for prosthesis adjustment and pain management.
He now has two children and said that they are his motivation to continue his rehabilitation.
"They're able to get away from me when I'm in the wheelchair so now that I'm getting up on the legs, they won't be running away too far. Only for them I wouldn't be sitting here. They're the reason I have a reason to live."