Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Family fundraising to thank Ninewells
THE family of a teenager recovering from a severe brain injury is fundraising to thank doctors and nurses for saving his life.
Kieran Lamond, 15, from Blairgowrie, fell off his bike while cycling home from his local shop in October, and was immediately taken into emergency surgery at Ninewells Hospital and put on life support.
However, the Blairgowrie High pupil is now making “amazing” progress in the children’s ward, and his family is looking to raise money to buy some contactless thermometers.
Step-mum Nicola Lamond said: “Kieran is doing amazing, he is getting on really well.
“He is speaking now and has little twitches on his left side – there is not a lot of movement but he is getting physiotherapy twice a day.
“He also now has a tube into his stomach rather than through his nose for his medicine and he can eat pureed food, too.
“Kieran went from ICU to high dependency and now he is on the children’s ward which is one step closer to home.
“He really wants to come home, but he needs to be in the hospital for his therapy. It will be a good while before he can come home.
“He has not had any contact with his sisters, they can only speak to him over FaceTime because of Covid19. Our four-year-old cries every night for him and there is nothing we can do just now.
“It is also his youngest sister’s birthday this week and we can’t celebrate with Kieran in person which is a shame, but we can celebrate everything properly when he gets home.”
It is the second time a child of the family has been saved by Ninewells staff.
Kieran’s sister Arianna became severely ill in 2016 when she was just two days old.
“I just want to give something back to the hospital because this is not the first time they have helped our family,” said Nicola.
“They saved Kieran’s youngest sister’s life when she was just a baby and I want them to know how much we appreciate all they have done.
“She ended up being diagnosed with genetic epilepsy. Without them she would not be here either.”
Nicola has set up a GoFundMe page and is aiming to raise £500 to buy the contactless thermometers.
She added: “We have noticed, especially in the children’s ward, they are still using ear thermometers.
“Recently I bought a contactless thermometer because I have five children at home and I want to make sure they are safe from Covid-19, because we have had it.
“It is the best thing I have ever bought and I think the hospital would benefit from them so much.
“Someone like Kieran doesn’t like the thermometer going into his ear because it is uncomfortable.
“If we can buy a few contactless thermometers it would be easier to take younger children’s temperatures.
“A contactless thermometer would also mean less physical contact between staff and patients.”
Kieran’s former school, Perth Grammar School, also donated a Nintendo Switch device for him to play with in hospital. “They also have more funds for him to buy new trainers and clothes, which is absolutely amazing,” Nicola added.