‘There is no such thing as a small donation’

There’s no such thing as a small donation. Everything counts. Those were the sentiments Phyllis Baker expressed at Weirs Pharmacy, Mullingar, during a coffee morning in aid of her ‘One Step at a Time’ fundraiser for Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Ireland, on Friday, June 9.

Phyllis is originally from Mullingar and now lives in Ballymahon. Her father Noel lived with a brain injury for four years and ultimately died from it. Six months after Noel passed away, Phyllis’s son Zac suffered a brain injury from an unprovoked assault.

With help from ABI, Zac has made enormous progress. Now 21, he plans to study sound engineering in Athlone IT. “While his life has changed, we’re making the most of it,” said Phyllis.

“You hear of assaults, and every time, I would think, ‘God, there’s another family possibly affected like us.’ And I said the only thing I can really do is try to give something back to the charity that helped us.

"A lot of people haven’t heard about it, and they’re so willing to help. They help 80-150 people in the midlands every month. They come to your house, you get psychological support from a neuropsychologist. The most important thing they do is they teach you about your brain injury, what it means, how it affects you.”

Phyllis told the Westmeath Examiner that a brain injury can be “everything from a stroke to an aneurysm, to a brain haemorrhage, to a sort of a fall, an infection”.

For ‘One Step at a Time’, Phyllis has taken up marathon running to generate funds for ABI Ireland. She has raised €13,520 so far and has a target of €15,000.

As well as running the 42km in the Dublin Marathon in October, Phyllis is participating in half-marathons and other activities. She ran the half-marathon in Portumna Forest on Saturday, June 10, and abseiled down Smithfield Tower in April.

Her friends have helped out by organising bake sales, sponsored cycles, fun runs and hikes. “Sport was never part of my life… but simple things like you getting up and getting active and getting out your door can make a huge difference,” said Phyllis.

“I call this personal development. This is like my rehab. This is helping me. I’m meeting people here today who are affected by brain injury and it’s very moving. It’s amazing, the connections you make with people.”

Phyllis would like to thank Weirs Pharmacy, those who attended the coffee morning and everyone who has contributed to ‘One Step at a Time’.

“People say, ‘Oh, it’s only small,’ but there’s no such thing as a small donation. Everything counts,” said Phyllis, who feels “very fortunate and very thankful to everybody” for their support.

Visit gofundme.com/Phyllis-baker-one-step-at-a-time to donate.