Family raises £76,000 for brain charity that saved their Dollis Hill dad’s life
L-R Professor Alexander Leff , Timothy O'Sullivan, Danny O'Sullivan and National Brain Appeal chief executive Theresa Dauncey - Credit: Archant
The family of a Dollis Hill businessman toppled by a brain injury have spent more than a year raising £76,000 for the hospital that saved his life.
Timothy O'Sullivan and fiancee Kacey O'Driscoll cycled the length of Britain. Picture: Timothy O'Sullivan - Credit: Archant
Father-of-five Danny O’Sullivan was training for Ireland’s Ring of Kerry cycle challenge on June 27 last year when he experienced a sudden and an extreme pain in the back of his head.
The 64-year-old needed lifesaving surgery and three subsequent operations and spent six weeks in a coma after an aneurysm ruptured in his brain.
Danny, founder and chairman of the Park Royal-based Danny Sullivan Group that supplies skilled workers to the construction industry, returned to work in January.
He said: “I have no memory of those early months in hospital and it breaks my heart to think of what my family went through.
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“I feel great now and am fully recovered. I am delighted to be back at work but I’m taking it easier these days.
“I cannot thank the staff at The National Hospital and my GP Dr Alix Daniel enough.
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“They not only saved my life but they have helped me back to how I was before I had the stroke.”
In September last year, son Timothy O’Sullivan and his fiancée Kacey O’Driscoll, both 32, cycled from Land’s End to John o’Groats over nine days to raise funds for the National Brain Appeal.
The charity supports the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Queen Square, Bloomsbury, which saved Danny’s life.
Timothy, who is managing director of the Danny Sullivan Group, said: “My father had a 4 per cent chance of survival. We cycled across Britain last year while he was in hospital. It was the toughest thing we’ve ever done but we always wanted to raise money for the brain charity. They do so much, so we wanted to give something back.”
Two years ago, before his stroke, Danny celebrated the 30th anniversary of his company at the Clayton Crown Pub in Cricklewood Broadway. He awarded gold watches to 120 people from his 1,500 workforce who had worked for the company for more than 20 years.
Timothy added: “We have a lot of people working for us in Kilburn, Cricklewood, that neck of the woods, and there are also local charities the company supports. We’d like to thank everyone who donated.”
To donate to The National Brain Appeal’s Aphasia Service go to justgiving.com/campaign/aphasia or call 020 3448 4724.
