Injured boy a ‘wee fighter’
Invercargill boy Kade Phillips is a ‘‘wee fighter’’, despite the big challenges he faces, his mum says.
The 10-year-old suffered a puncture wound to the side of his head at Sacred Heart School in Invercargill about 8.35am on Friday last week, requiring surgery.
He was playing with another pupil, a 9-year-old boy, at the time.
Kade’s mum Theresa Smart said the loss of movement down one side of his body meant he struggled to sit up, and he got frustrated a lot.
She, along with Kade’s siblings and extended family, were coping as well as they could, she said.
‘‘It is horrible. It just doesn’t feel real,’’ she said.
Kade’s grandfather said his family was going through a gutwrenching time.
During surgery, Kade had a large part of his skull removed to allow the brain to swell.
He now faces another ‘‘quite serious’’ surgery to replace the piece of skull when the swelling goes back down.
Police have decided not to take any further action in relation to the incident, and have said Kade was slowly improving.
He’s a very sick boy . . . he’s not OK.
But Kade’s grandfather said he had a very long journey to recovery.
‘‘He’s a very sick boy . . . he’s not OK.’’
Kade had no movement or feeling in the right-hand side of his body, was unable to swallow, and was being fed through a tube.
Kade’s memory was intact, as was his eyesight, and he was able to speak, his grandfather said.
‘‘He will be going to Starship [children’s hospital] in Auckland in time, but it will be after this next surgery and once he’s stable.’’
‘‘When [Kade] first woke up, he whispered to his brother ‘am I gonna die?’, and my 14-year-old grandson just fell apart.’’
The family were working
to pick up the pieces, he said.
‘‘It’s been so emotionally charged. The first 48 hours was is this kid gonna survive, the next 48 hours was okay what’s next.’’
Smart said she was completely overwhelmed by the support Kade and her family were receiving.
‘‘Words really can’t express how much we appreciate it, it’s just been amazing. Even though we’re in Dunedin it doesn’t feel like we’ve been removed from our community at all.’’
Kade’s grandfather said the family was incredibly grateful for the amazing support they had received from their community, including the Sacred Heart School PTA, which has set up a Givealittle page for Kade.