SHOCK AS BOY, 8, HAS STROKE AT TRAINING
AN eight-year-old boy has suffered a stroke before a training session with his rugby club.
Brooklyn May was among a group of 45 Trimsaran RFC Juniors players getting ready to take part in the session on Tuesday, May 18, when he collapsed on the pitch.
The club’s first aider immediately came to help and the Welsh Ambulance Service was called.
The Trimsaran School pupil was rushed to Glangwili Hospital, before he was transferred to hospital in Cardiff.
It was while at hospital that it was discovered he’d suffered a stroke – something normally associated with much older adults.
Chairman of the juniors side, Gavin O’Shea, said: “We have the kids sanitise and then once that is done they can go off to one of the other coaches to start the session. Brooklyn sanitised and went to jog towards the other coach and it couldn’t have been 10 metres distance and he had collapsed. You could see straight away it was not a trip, he fell flat and dropped to the floor.
“One of the coaches, who is a first aider, went straight to him and started looking him over and we took the other kids away.
“We phoned an ambulance straight away and we got in touch with his parents, who were down here within five minutes of having the call. A few of the other kids were quite concerned, and some went home being quite upset, as you can imagine.
We carried on with the session and tried to reassure all of the children.
“As coaches, we were concerned. It was the not knowing which was worse. We didn’t actually get told about what had happened until a bit later on.
“It was such a shock; you would never expect someone that young to have a stroke. Brooklyn has been with us since the under-sevens age group and he’s full of beans. He is great to have around.
“This morning I had a message to say there had been a little improvement in his condition.”
According to the Stroke Association, stroke affects around five out of every 100,000 children a year in the UK.
Although associated with older people, stroke can actually affect any person at any age, and can even happen during pregnancy. Stroke can affect previously healthy children and in some cases, there can be no apparent cause. In about 10% of childhood stroke cases, the cause is unknown.
The rugby club decided to do something to support Brooklyn’s family through such a difficult period, and have started a fundraising page which so far has gathered £1,773 in donations, far surpassing the £500 which they had initially targeted.
“We are just thinking the family are going to be travelling to Cardiff a lot now and staying up there with him, so we wanted to help them financially,” Mr O’Shea said.
“There has been a massive response, including from other clubs sending their best wishes and donating money. I didn’t expect the fundraising to be as big as it has been.”
Speaking last week Mr O’Shea added the team were due to take on Burry Port on Sunday for their first game back, and that there were plans for a minute’s applause for Brooklyn before kick-off.
“Brooklyn’s mum has been overwhelmed. She is extremely grateful for the support – she can’t explain how grateful she is,” Mr O’Shea added.
A Welsh Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “We were called on Tuesday, May 18, at approximately 5.34pm to reports of a medical emergency on Heol Llanelli, Trimsaran. One patient was transported to Glangwili Hospital.”
If you would like to donate to the fundraising page, you can do so by visiting www.justgiving. com/crowdfunding/ trimsaran-juniors
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It was such a shock; you would never expect someone that young to have a stroke
Gavin O’Shea