17th June was the day everything changed. Our world was turned upside down and would never be the same again…

Cai had just celebrated his 19th birthday five days earlier when he collapsed suddenly at home.

He was rushed to Fairfield General Hospital where they carried out an emergency CT scan – the doctors confirmed Cai had a massive blood clot on his brain, he was suffering from a Basilar Artery Stroke. A rare type of stroke which affects the back part of the brain. The consultant explained that the whole of Cai’s brain stem was blocked and he needed surgery to remove the clot due to the size and position.

Within minutes, we were put in an ambulance and blue lighted across to Salford Royal. I was told that when we arrived, a team of about 20 doctors and nurses would come rushing round Cai but that it was completely “normal”. Nothing about what was happening was normal. Cai was hooked up to wires and machines, had lines inserted and then whisked up to theatre in an instant. In that moment, I didn’t know if I would ever see my son alive again. My world literally fell apart around me.

The operating team successfully retrieved the whole clot which was “the best outcome” they could have hoped for but nothing could prepare me for what I was faced with next. The ICU doctor explained that Cai had been placed in an induced coma and was in critical condition, he was having seizures that they were struggling to control. He needed to have probes wired into his head so they could monitor his brain activity and he had been put on a ventilator which was breathing for him. They didn’t know if there was any permanent brain damage caused by the stroke.

Cai was taken off the ventilator and brought out of the coma, when he finally woke up and opened his eyes he said “sorry” to me before asking if I’d seen the football fixture list – I knew at that point he was stronger than I could ever imagine and that he was going to fight this every step of the way.

The next few weeks were a whirlwind, there were multiple different tests and scans done to try and determine the cause of the stroke. It was finally confirmed that Cai has a hole in his heart, a Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) which needs to be closed in order to reduce the risk of further strokes.

Cai needs this procedure doing URGENTLY so we can prevent any further strokes from happening but the NHS waiting list is currently over 12 months which is why we are fundraising to get this done privately. Cai needs and wants to get back to living a normal life and hopefully get back to doing what he loves, playing football!

PLEASE HELP by donating OR sharing this link with as many people as possible.

Thank you,

Amy & Cai x