Fundraiser following Oldham mobility scooter car crash

Kirsty Harper set up the fundraiser for her 67-year-old mum after she was knocked off her mobility scooter by a car while she used a pedestrian crossing by the Shell garage on Crompton Way, in Shaw on December 21.

Cath Harper was taken to intensive care Manchester Royal Infirmary and had to be put into an induced coma following the crash due to her injuries.

She has since been taken to the High Dependency Unit and has a tracheostomy to help her breathe.

It means she cannot speak without a special speaking valve to allow air to her vocal cords.

Cath Harper in an induced coma in hospital (Image: Kirsty Harper)

ALSO READ: Oldham woman put in induced coma after mobility scooter crash.

Now, daughter Kirsty has quit her job to take care of her parents, both of whom need care.

Previously, Cath had been taking care of her husband, who has muscular dystrophy, but this is now no longer feasible – with her recovery in hospital expected to take months.

Prior to the crash, Cath had been waiting for a hip replacement, which had to be delayed after she was diagnosed with bladder cancer.

The fundraiser, set up on Tuesday has already received more than £1,000 from 33 people.

Kirsty says a new bed and chair will cost around £10,000.

‘Doing well’

The 43-year-old added: “She’s doing really well, she’s still very much my mum – which is great.

"You can have a laugh and a joke with her. She’s still got the tracheostomy and the feeding tube because they need to do x-rays and make sure that all of the operations went well and they don’t have to do anything further.

“Hopefully they’ll be getting that out at some point this week if everything’s gone well and she should be able to start having sips of water then, because that’s all she wants – she just wants a drink of water, she keeps putting her hand out every time I have a mint and I have to tell her ‘you can’t have anything!’.

She continued: “It’s amazing what good spirits she’s in. She can’t have visitors for long, it’s quite tiring because she can’t talk unless they put the speaking valve on so the air can actually get to her vocal cords.

“She’s doing very well head-wise, but the opening on the back of her head is still very much opening and is going to take a long, long time to close but it’s not bothering her too much.

“There are other things causing her quite a lot of pain, she’s started to get some physio, she can’t get up herself so they hoist her onto a chair.”

Legal claim could take ‘three to four years’

The family does plan on taking legal action to try to recover some costs from the driver of the car but their solicitor has told them it can take three to four years.

GMP has been contacted about whether the driver is facing criminal charges.

Kirsty added: “What I’ve learned, and this is nothing bad against the NHS because I know they’re dreadfully underfunded, but I know that from equipment my dad’s had in the past is not always the most amazing, it’s sometimes been refurbished.

“I want my mum’s recovery to be the best it can be and I want her to be as comfortable as possible.

“What I’m petrified of is there’s a leak in her house’s roof which comes in right above my the lift my dad uses to get between floors, which my mum will have to use now as well.

“I know she’d been trying to get it repaired, but with the solicitor saying three to four years for a claim to go through it’s imperative that I get these things in place as soon as possible.

Those who wish to donate to the fundraiser can do so on Crowdfunder.co.uk.