The Comeback Kid: car crash survivor spreads word about drink driving

17-year-old Shane Mullins drove drunk and crashed his car, sustaining a horrific brain injury: now he is touring the country as a motivational speaker on mental health.

By Jennifer Wade Saturday 13 Jul 2013, 2:20 PM

Jul 13th 2013, 2:20 PM 10,062 Views 11 Comments

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Shane Mullins

Image: RTÉ Radio 1 - Documentary on One

Shane Mullins

Image: RTÉ Radio 1 - Documentary on One

IN OCTOBER 2005, Galway teenager Shane Mullins drove drunk and crashed his car.

Aged just 17, Shane was brought to the brink of death: after four days in a coma he regained consciousness but had sustained a horrific brain injury.

“Two days, when I was in that coma, I had no brain activity… so my mother and my family were asked to prepare for the worst,” Shane recalls during a new Doc on One radio documentary, to be aired today.

Now, after several years of rehabilitation, Shane is touring the country to talk about his experiences and share the self-help system he developed to deal with the emotional strain of his accident.

“With a brain injury, there’s isolation and loneliness,” he said. “I knew I could get out there and get better – but how? And then D’MESS was born.”

Shane’s D’MESS programme aims to help educate people on mental health issues by focusing on key areas:

‘D’ = Determination

‘M’ = Motivation

‘E’ = Emotional

‘S’ = Support

‘S’ = Social

“The Comeback Kid” will air on RTÉ Radio One at 2pm today.

Read: Global traumatic brain injury rates could be six times higher than thought – study
Read: German TV station airs Healy Rae drink-drive segment

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The Comeback Kid: car crash survivor spreads word about drink driving

17-year-old Shane Mullins drove drunk and crashed his car, sustaining a horrific brain injury: now he is touring the country as a motivational speaker on mental health.