I don’t even know where to begin to explain how difficult this journey has been for me as Junior’s mum and for our family.

Six weeks ago, my beautiful 7-year-old son, Junior, suffered a devastating stroke caused by a blood clot on his brain. In an instant, our lives changed, and I found myself facing a future I could never have imagined for my little boy.

Junior needed emergency surgery to remove the blood clot and spent three weeks and four days in intensive care (ICU) and in a coma, receiving specialist care in hospital.

The stroke caused significant damage to his main brainstem and resulted in a significant brain injury.

While Junior was in his coma, doctors also discovered that there had already been previous damage to his brain from multiple smaller strokes leading up to the major stroke. This made his situation even more uncertain, as there was no way of knowing how much of the damage would affect him or what his recovery would look like.

During those early days, I was faced with some of the hardest conversations any parent could ever hear. I was told that, because of the extent and location of Junior’s brain injury, that he would never be able to talk, communicate, walk or move again, that he had locked-in syndrome and was needing a tracheostomy.

For anyone who knows Junior, they will know that sitting still has never been something he does! He is full of energy, cheekiness, laughter and life. The thought of my little boy being unable to move, communicate or enjoy the things that make him who he is was heartbreaking.

But Junior has continued to amaze everyone around him.

Day after day, Junior has shown incredible strength, determination and a fighting spirit that makes me so proud. He has done things that once felt impossible. He is communicating, moving, showing his personality and continuing to make progress in his recovery.

He is now able to take steps with assistance and the support of a leg brace, while still using his wheelchair as he continues to build his strength and independence.

What makes Junior’s recovery even more extraordinary is that his specialist paediatric neurologist has described his recovery as miraculous. His specialist paediatric neurologist has also asked permission to take Junior’s case global, so that his journey can help show other doctors, specialists and families that there may be more hope for children facing devastating brain injuries than they initially realise.

Junior still has a long road ahead, but we as a family want to give him every possible opportunity to continue improving and reach his full potential.

This fundraiser will help towards the costs of private physiotherapy, specialist rehabilitation, speech and language therapy, assessments and any additional support that will help Junior during his rehabilitation and recovery.

As part of this next stage of Junior’s recovery, he will be having private rehabilitation with ARNI (Action for Rehabilitation from Neurological Injury). Junior will be receiving specialist physiotherapy and rehabilitation focused on helping him build his strength, movement, balance, coordination and independence. He will also have speech and language therapy to support his communication, cognition and swallowing, alongside rehabilitation to help him develop his ability to carry out everyday activities.

The waiting list for NHS rehabilitation is six months long, and the first three months following a stroke are particularly important for recovery and rehabilitation. I don’t want Junior to lose valuable time waiting for the support he needs, especially when he is already making such incredible progress.

Part of our fundraising will also go towards creating a sensory space for Junior at home. Following his brain injury, Junior can sometimes become overwhelmed by noise, excitement and his surroundings. A dedicated sensory room would give him a safe, calming space where he can regulate his emotions, reduce sensory overload and have time to decompress when things become too much. This will be an important part of supporting Junior’s recovery, independence and emotional wellbeing.

I also wanted to take the opportunity to give back to the incredible places that have supported Junior and our family every step of the way. My amazing auntie is taking on a skydive to raise money for PICU, where Junior was looked after during his time in intensive care. My amazing sister is also running the London Marathon next year to raise money for Ronald McDonald House, which has been our home away from home since Junior was first admitted and has allowed me to remain by Junior’s side throughout every moment of his recovery.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for every message, every kind word, every donation and every bit of love and support you have shown Junior and our family.

No matter the size of your donation, it will make a difference, and we will be extremely grateful, beyond words. If you’re not in a position to donate, I would really appreciate it if you could share Junior’s story and the fundraiser, as every share helps us reach more people. We will, of course, keep you updated on Junior’s progress.

I also hope that by sharing Junior’s story, I can help raise awareness of paediatric strokes. Whilst childhood strokes are rare, they do happen, and before this happened to Junior, I never imagined something like this could happen to my little boy. One of the reasons I feel it is so important to raise awareness is that children don’t always show the obvious signs of a stroke that we might expect, and symptoms can sometimes be subtle or difficult to recognise.

Knowing the signs could make a difference. Symptoms can include sudden weakness or numbness (such as pins and needles) on one side of the body, difficulty walking or using an arm or leg, changes in speech or communication, facial weakness, problems with balance, seizures, unusual drowsiness, severe or unusual headaches, vision changes, or a child suddenly seeming different from their usual self.

Keep fighting, Junior.