Five years after suffering life-changing injuries in an unprovoked attack, Liverpool fan Seán Cox is able to walk upright with the aid of a robotic skeleton.
His wife Martina has spoken of how it was "very emotional, really, really emotional" to see her husband take his first steps again.
"He actually started in a sitting position and then he just stood up and then [just kinda] walked towards me," she said.
"And even the look on his own face."
The father-of-three (53) from Dunboyne in Co Meath suffered catastrophic head injuries in an attack outside Anfield in April 2018 following Liverpool's European Champions League clash with Roma.
He spent five weeks in a specialist neurological unit in Liverpool, before being transferred to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin.
Speaking to Miriam O’Callaghan for RTÉ’s Prime Time programme, his wife Martina has spoken about her husband's recovery five years on and reflected on his rehabilitation since the unprovoked attack.
He has started the new exoskeleton therapy, an innovative treatment that allows him to walk upright with the aid of a robotic skeleton.
Martina said it has been "so good", adding: "We don't know what is going to come out of this, but psychologically it's really good for him".
Five years ago, Liverpool fan Sean Cox suffered life-changing injuries in an unprovoked attack near Anfield stadium.
— RTÉ Prime Time (@RTE_PrimeTime) April 25, 2023
He's now learning to walk with the help of an exoskeleton. @MiriamOCal met him and his wife Martina to speak about his on-going recovery.
Watch: @RTEOne, 935pm. pic.twitter.com/AcPYzPZEia
Also speaking about the anniversary of the attack, Martina said: “I don't dwell on it, to be honest life is too busy and life is too short as well.
"We are just trying to move on, get the most out of life.
"Sean, he is a relatively young man still. We want to have really good memories.
"We are starting to go out a little bit more, we've gone on holidays. We just want to do more of those things."
She also said that the family continue to look to the future.
"In sickness and in health, those words, they are so powerful," she said.
"There was never a second thought I was going to do anything else but look after him.
"You think your life is carved out for you, but then it just goes to show you really can't plan because this happened and then everything changed.
"But I'm still happy and Sean is happy and we still love each other and I think that's what makes all this work."
Sean has a number of carers who come to the house during the week to support him and Martina.
But Martina said she feels more help is needed for families like theirs.
"Home care is particularly tricky at the minute, it hasn't been consistent,"she said.
"Sean's needs are high, recently a lot of the hours are not met, and this is down to the fact that there are not enough carers.
"The demand is really, really high for both disability and the elderly in the home but the supply of carers is just not there because I think what they are being paid is too low.
"I think the government need to definitely look at investing more money into this area."
