A SCOTS family man whose life has been devastated by a crippling illness is on his way home, thanks to an incredible fundraising effort by Scottish football fans.
Martin Kane, 41, was hospitalised a year ago when he was left paralysed by the rare disease Devic’s Syndrome and suffered a lifetime of multiple sclerosis symptoms in one night.
The devastating illness has left the Glasgow-born expat almost entirely paralysed, and he has spent more than a year in hospital because his family house in Perth, Australia, could not meet his medical needs and needed a refit costing £50,000.
But earlier this year, a group of kind-hearted fellow Celtic fans, whom he had only ever chatted to on the internet, launched a huge fundraising effort to get him back home with his family in time for Christmas and, after six months of hard work, reached the target this weekend with a charity night at Celtic Park.
And with the funds in place to renovate and refit the house to accommodate his special needs, Martin, nicknamed Kano by pals, is now on target to get home for Christmas.
Martin’s wife Carolyn, 49, said the entire family were amazed and grateful for the incredible effort from the fans.
She said: “I can’t find the words to express how grateful I am or how amazed I am at what so many people have done for us, and the efforts people have gone to for Martin even though they have never met or even spoken to him in real life.
“The support we have had from the Celtic fans around the world is what has kept us both going over the last year, and it has made all the difference to Martin while he has been stuck in hospital.
“But now we can get the work done on the house in time, and with help from the hospital, should have him home for a proper family Christmas.”
Martin was struck by the disease on the night of November 5, last year, when a tingling sensation quickly developed into a loss of feeling right across his body.
He was rushed to hospital in Perth, where doctors feared the worst and Carolyn was told his situation could not be more serious.
Although a heart attack or stroke were initially suspected, he was later diagnosed with Devic’s, which is a very rare and extreme neurological condition, similar to suffering a lifetime’s worth of MS symptoms in a matter of minutes.
The condition is an extreme form of multiple sclerosis. It causes the immune system to attack the protective material that covers the nerves, and is so rare there is not even a statistic covering its incidence per head of population.
Like many neurological conditions, the cause is unknown, and it is impossible to know how long it might take Martin to recover.
Hours after his first symptom, Martin became paralysed from the neck down and breathes through a ventilator.
He has been living in a rehab centre in Perth ever since, unable to move or speak, and can only mouth words or smile to communicate to his wife and children Sean, 16, and Alanna, 13.
His story was first told in an Australian news broadcast this summer when star player Scott Brown and former manager Gordon Strachan sent him messages of support.
And when his friends on popular Celtic fans blog Celticquicknews.co.uk found out, they launched a worldwide campaign to raise the funds needed.
They have since staged sponsored slims, bike rides, sponsored 10k entries, quiz and music nights, and also raised £10,000 from a bucket collection outside Celtic Park last month, but the target was reached on Saturday at a special charity race night in the stadium.
The campaign was boosted by a £3000 donation from the Celtic Charity Fund, while old firm rivals Rangers donated a signed Ally McCoist print for auction.
