“Game of Thrones” actor Michael Patrick revealed he had about one year left to live — two months before his tragic death at age 35.
“My neurologist gave us the news that I likely have about 1 year left,” Patrick, who was battling a neurological disorder called Motor Neuron Disease, wrote in his final Instagram post shared on Feb. 6.
The late star told his followers at the time that his doctor “can’t say for definite” how much longer he had to live, noting that he still had “hope for the drug trial to buy some more time too.”
Patrick also said that he didn’t “want to risk a significant amount of that time being in a hospital bed” and vowed that he still had “lots to live for and lots planned.”
Patrick’s post featured a picture of the Irish actor holding his godson, Micheál, while sitting in a wheelchair with a breathing tube in his mouth at the hospital.
At the start of his caption, Patrick said he had been diagnosed with MND in February 2023.
The neurological disorder destroys motor neurons, which control skeletal muscle activity such as walking, breathing, speaking and swallowing, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
In his Feb. 6 health update, Patrick explained he had spent a week in an Irish hospital with his wife, Naomi Sheehan, by his side. During that time, they spoke to doctors about “the risks and implications” of getting a tracheostomy, defined as a surgical procedure that creates an opening in the neck into the trachea to help airway access and ventilation.
“In short I’m not going ahead with the tracheostomy,” he wrote.
Patrick explained that doctors told him that if he got the procedure, it would take between six and 12 months for him to go home from the hospital because of “lack of staffing resources.”
“Thanks so much to everyone who helped push this – from senior social workers, to politicians, to the chief executive of the hospital,” he continued. “Everyone has tried so hard, but there just isn’t the staff.”
Patrick also thanked everyone who donated to his GoFundMe, which was created to help with hospital bills, including the cost of the tracheostomy.
“Even though I didn’t go ahead with the tracheostomy- it will still go towards providing me with specialist care as I enter the final stages of life,” he shared in his post. “I’m still overwhelmed by all your generosity.”
The GoFundMe has raised over £110,505 (about $129,184) as of Wednesday.
Patrick’s wife confirmed in an Instagram post on Wednesday that he died “peacefully” while in hospice care in Ireland.
“Words can’t describe how broken-hearted we are,” she wrote, noting that her late husband “lived a life as full as any human can live.”
Sheehan also said she was “so grateful for every person who supported us through the last few years.”
