Kentish Express Ashford & District
BRAVE TEEN’S INCREDIBLE RECOVERY
Pupil sets up charity after sudden bleed on brain
A teenager’s sudden bleed on the brain which left him unable to walk or talk has sparked a wave of generosity – and inspired him to set up a charity.
When Cllr Heather Hayward’s son Sam said he had a headache after returning from school on December 11, his mum thought nothing of it.
It was only when he wouldn’t come down for dinner at his home in Kingsnorth Road, and his sister Alexia went to check on him, they realised something serious was happening.
They found the then-14-yearold vomiting, fitting and barely conscious and ambulances arrived rapidly after Mrs Hayward, who represents the Roman ward on Ashford Borough Council, made a 999 call.
After a CT scan at the William Harvey Hospital, it was discovered he’d had a bleed on the brain and Sam was rushed to King’s College Hospital in a harrowing ambulance ride.
A previously undiscovered arteriovenous malformation had ruptured, leading to pressure on the brain and a blood clot.
Emergency surgeries immediately followed his arrival and, upon his sedation being turned off, Cllr Hayward tested her son’s cognitive skills by asking about his favourite subject – trains.
Through hand squeezes, they learnt his encyclopaedic locomotive knowledge hadn’t been affected, but there was no knowing how he had been impacted physically.
Ashford Independent representative Cllr Hayward, 43, said: “He was on a ventilator for the first 48 hours or so, very distressed and unable to speak or walk.
“It was really very demoralising for him, and gut-wrenching for all of us.”
Days of physio and speech therapy ensued at the London hospital, and soon the Homewood School pupil was able to walk short distances unaided.
Despite being in hospital for 25 days over the Christmas period, Sam returned to Ashford on January 5 and quickly settled back into home life.
Homewood offered Sam parttime sessions to help with his recovery. He was helped by teacher Ronan Friel to devise a model railway club at the school called ‘Ride the Rails club’.
The effort was assisted by Sam’s friend Andy, who posted on the Thanet NextDoor website about Sam’s plight and his hopes for a school model railway club.
The post was met with widespread support, with many offering to donate parts and entire layouts.
A woman from Thanet offered her late husband’s layout and model railway collection for free, and the marketing director of Hornby got in touch to ask how they could help the Ride the Rails club.
‘He was on a ventilator for the first 48 hours or so, unable to speak...’