Natasha McShane’s family is straining to pay her soaring medical bills.

The 23- year-old Irish student, who is from Co Armagh, has struggled to survive life-threatening injuries after being savagely beaten with a baseball bat on April 23 in Chicago.

“She's not really able to talk properly. She's had a portion of her brain removed in surgery to remove pressure, and it was the part that controls speech. There's a good chance she'll make a full recovery but it could take a long time,” her cousin Aislinn Clarke told the Belfast Telegraph.

Natasha’s parents are in Chicago with her and hope to bring her back to Northern Ireland and place her in a rehabilitation center in Belfast.

Over $70,000 has been raised in Chicago for Natasha, and Clarke has organized a fundraiser for her in Belfast.

The event is to be held 8pm next Thursday at the Black Box; Belfast bands Jackson Cage, Kitty and the Can Openers, Uber Glitterati and Cara Cowen are scheduled to play.