Boxer who was told he may never move again after injury expecting first child with girlfriend

A north Belfast man who was told he may never move or talk again following a serious boxing incident has revealed that he and his long-term girlfriend are expecting their first child together.

Amateur boxer Stephen McMullan (27) suffered a horrific brain injury in December 2021.

He was admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital the day after his defeat to Monkstown’s Charlie Boyle in the Ulster Elite senior finals after sustaining a brain injury.

Having initially spent five weeks in the intensive care unit at the Royal Victoria Hospital, he was later transferred to a stroke ward and to the Musgrave Park Hospital brain injury unit for intense rehabilitation.

He was finally able to return home in September 2022 after almost a year in hospital.

Doctors said there was a 99.9% chance that the heavyweight fighter of Newington Amateur Boxing Club would only ever be able to move his eyes to look up and down, but earlier this year Stephen managed to take his first steps since the incident.

Stephen’s partner of 13 years, Amy Fitzsimons (26), said that he never gave up on getting better, and she never gave up on him either.

Now seven months pregnant, Amy told the Belfast Telegraph: “We are having a wee boy. Stephen couldn’t wait — he had to find out what we were having.

“The pregnancy wasn’t planned, but it wasn’t not planned either. We always just said that if it happens it happens and I’m due now in September.”

Stephen added that he is “over the moon” about becoming a father.

He is able to communicate via an Eyegaze device, which uses a special eye-tracking camera which picks up eye movements, including letters Stephen looks at on screen, thus helping him form sentences.

Amy said that while the recovery process has been hard, Stephen continues to improve every single day; the couple are also just back from their first foreign holiday since his injury.

“It was hard, but I would never have left him. I was sticking with him through the whole thing,” Amy explained.

“He’s doing really, really well, and I’m just helping him to do whatever he needs to do.

“He’s doing physiotherapy nearly every week. He took his first couple of steps a few months ago and he is able to sit up and balance on his own.

“He really enjoys going to physio every week, but his speech therapy was stopped because he got this Eyegaze device. But he’s been praying for private speech help.

“When we were away in Portugal for my cousin’s wedding, it must have been the hardest week for him, because not doing physio and actually having to relax is so different for him, but Stephen wanted to go, so we made a holiday out of it.

“It was brilliant to get away for a bit of relaxation.

“He’s always doing stuff, looking up things on the internet that will help him. He does not sit at peace.”

Stephen said his physiotherapists have kept him on as a client because he keeps progressing.

“If they felt that there was nothing else they could do for him, they would have stopped, but he just keeps doing more and doing really well,” Amy continued.

“There’s no stopping him. If there’s something new to try, Stephen’s on to it.”

Whilst in Portugal, Stephen got a tattoo of Amy’s name, as she had his name inked on her while he was in a coma in ICU.

“I wanted him to see it when he woke up,” Amy said, “and it was his idea to get my name on him now too.”

A fundraising page for Stephen was set up by his cousin, with the family initially hoping to raise just £5,000. The current total, however, is sitting at more than £12,000.

The money went towards helping Stephen and his family afford his intensive rehabilitation and the Eyegaze computer system, which he is also able to use for social media and controlling his TV.

Stephen has even been undertaking his own charity challenges and has raised £2,400 for Chest, Heart & Stroke through fundraising initiatives such as auctioning off items, including a signed Carl Frampton boxing glove.

“I just keep a positive mindset and know I can [keep getting better],” said Stephen.

“It might take time, but I will.”

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