Two months after an assault in Chicago that left her in a coma, Irish student Natasha McShane has regained her speech and some actions, to the relief of her family and flatmate, writes PAMELA NEWENHAM
NEXT WEDNESDAY marks two months since Natasha McShane, a student at University College Dublin, was mugged in Chicago. After weeks in a drug-induced coma she now appears to be making slow progress – though it is too early to talk of a full recovery.
In a statement her parents have said: “She is walking with assistance, has started to use her arms for functional tasks and has begun to talk.”
Her friend and US housemate, Danielle Maihofer, told The Irish Timesthis week: "I go to see her every day. She gets a huge smile on her face each time I walk in. She is talking, but not all of her words make sense. Her speech is kind of jumbled."
Maihofer, who shared a house with McShane in Chicago from January until the attack, in April, said her friend was in good spirits: “She has good days and bad days, but is pretty content most of the time.
“Natasha was not eating the hospital food for ages, and no one could understand why. Then her mum ordered some Thai food for her, and she devoured the whole plate. It was just a case that she didn’t like the crappy hospital food,” Maihofer said.
“She is so cute. She gives everyone a hug when they’re leaving and says ‘I love you’. It makes the rest of us feel better. It’s funny, because she is the one comforting us and it should be the other way round . . . We’re all expecting and hoping for a 100 per cent recovery, but it will be a long, long time.”
McShane’s medical prognosis remains uncertain, according to doctors at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, but her parents, Liam and Sheila McShane, remain hopeful that their daughter will be able to “lead a full, meaningful and independent life”.
They have remained by her side in Chicago, along with her siblings, who have travelled back and forth from Northern Ireland. In a statement they have described themselves as “devastated and heartbroken for their beautiful daughter”. The McShanes said they had been overwhelmed by the generosity of Chicagoans, who raised more than $250,000 (€200,000) to pay for their daughter’s medical bills.
“We continue to be awed and moved by the sheer magnitude of the generosity shown by friends and strangers alike. Indeed, we truly feel we are among friends, in this beautiful city of Chicago, while Natasha continues her journey of recovery.”
Maihofer said she would never have expected such an attack could have happened in her neighbourhood, which is usually “very safe”. “I have walked in that area at that time of night countless times. It is a very popular area for young people to go out.”
McShane, who is from Silverbridge in south Armagh, was spending a semester studying at the University of Illinois in Chicago and bartending on the side. She had received a scholarship to study for an MA in urban planning and had just secured an internship to prolong her stay.
April 23rd was an exciting day for the postgraduate student. She had been given a visa extension, and her friend Stacey Jurich had received a glowing work review. Both went out to celebrate that evening.
The two girls had been returning home from a Bucktown bar when a robber struck Jurich in the back of the head, causing her to stumble to the ground. He then struck McShane in the head two or three times before hitting Jurich again as she got up. The 4ft 9in McShane was left with extensive head injuries.
Doctors placed her in a drug-induced coma and feared she would never walk or talk again. She spent the first three weeks following the assault in intensive care, where doctors listed her condition as critical. It was more than a month before she spoke, showing her memories were still there.
Heriberto Viramontes, who is 30, and March Cruz, who is 25, have been charged with attempted murder, armed robbery and aggravated battery in connection with the attack on McShane and Jurich. Both deny the charges.
