KEY POINTS:
Young Christchurch opera singer Seamus Casey is fighting for his life in a Sydney hospital after being hit by a car last Tuesday.
He is in a coma and his wife Laura faces the agonising decision of whether or not to turn off his life-support.
Casey, 27, attended Burnside High School and did a Diploma of Performing Arts at the Hagley Theatre Company before moving offshore to pursue a successful career in opera, The Press reported.
Last Tuesday, he was hit by a car on his way to work. He suffered severe head injuries and a broken leg and immediately went onto life support at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
He remains in a critical condition and doctors have told his family they should turn off life support, but his wife refuses to give up hope.
Mrs Casey said her husband has undergone two rounds of neurosurgery to remove two clots on his brain.
He has since failed four out of six neurological tests, which, if all had been failed would indicate he was brain dead.
Mrs Casey has set up an online diary to update friends and family on her husband's condition.
"The prognosis is very bleak," she wrote last night.
"Doctors have said they think we should turn off the life support, but the option is there to continue helping him and do some more tests in a day or two. I believe the next few hours will be the most difficult of my life."
Casey was selected to join the Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artists programme in 2002 and named vocal award winner in Christchurch's 2000 Young Performer of the Year.
- NZPA
