'Went flying into a wall' - Kildare man will never walk again after horrific crash
A man from Kildare will never walk again after a sunny Bank Holiday motorcycle ride changed his life forever
A Kildare man is now living independently in his new home after spending nine years in a nursing home following a serious motorbike collision 13 years ago.
Kaspar Cauns (46) was a professional landscaper for many years but on May 1, 2013, his whole world flipped upside down.
On a sunny bank holiday back in 2013, Kaspar decided to go out on a drive on his motorcycle; a decision he would regret for the rest of his life.
Kaspar only had his motorcycle for two years when he ultimately found himself never able to walk again. He had stopped riding motorcycles a couple of years prior after a minor crash.
The second, much more serious, accident happened on the Clane-Celbridge road in Kildare, but because of injuries to his head, Kaspar doesn’t remember the incident.
“Apparently, I was overtaking five cars on a nice, long, straight road, which I know very well, because I go that road every day for I don't know how many years.
“In one of the cars, there was a guard (garda), an off-duty guard. So, you have to believe what he said. So, I was overtaking five cars, and turns out the first car was turning, so then I hit the car on the side, and went flying into a stone wall.”
Kaspar suffered very serious injuries as a result of the crash, including severe damage to his hip.
“I spent six months in Tallaght hospital, I don't remember much from that. It was my head injury, I guess.
“Then after that, three months in Dun Laoghaire National Rehabilitation Centre. My left hip was so badly smashed, they cut it out completely. So my left side is four inches shorter than my right side, that's why I can't walk.”
After the hospital and rehabilitation centre, Kaspar went on to spend nine years in a nursing home. This was a very low point in his life where he even thought about ending his life. He lost a lot of hope and happiness as well as losing his ability to walk or be independent.
“I thought I'm never going to get out and to be honest, I even had many thoughts on how to kill myself, but I wouldn't do it because I didn't want to upset my mother.
“I had no hope and thought it was the only way out of the madness, you can imagine there's some people with Alzheimer's and whatever diseases, dementia, and there's no one to talk to even”.
Kaspar found hope again however when he was put in contact with the Irish Wheelchair Association who have been helping him weekly for over a decade now. They even helped him find his new home in Naas.
“They did everything for me. They put me in contact with an advocate for housing. Now I'm living in this house for three years or so. I got my own little bungalow and have a happy life.”
Kaspar said that moving into his own home for the first time was challenging because he had to learn to live independently again for the first time in nearly ten years.
“It was difficult obviously because everything changed, you know, you don't know how much groceries cost or nothing like that, everything is new. You have to learn everything like a baby.”
Kaspar has carers who come to his home three times a day to help him with everyday tasks, like getting in and out of bed every day.
“The home is lovely, yeah. It's obviously been designed for someone like me before because it has a ramp at the front and back. It's great.”
Kaspar is a first-hand example of how dangerous the roads can be, one simple journey could cost you life-altering injuries and even death.
His words of advice to people are: “never buy a motorcycle.”
“That's what I've learned. Other than that, just be safe, you know, motorcycles are just a little too dangerous. Only once you're on it, then you know.
“It doesn't have to be you. It's just every time you go out on the roads and if they don't see you, if nobody sees you, it can cause an accident.”