<div>Tom, devoted Dad to 1 year old twin boys, was involved in a serious incident whilst playing football on Saturday 1st February 2025. An incident that has already had a damaging impact on both his personal and professional life.
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<div>Whilst playing in the FA Vase Quarter Final for VCD, Tom was elbowed in the throat during a tackle and suffered severe damage to his throat and airway. He was treated by physios on the pitch and an ambulance was called immediately because he was unable to talk or breathe normally. Once at Darent Valley Hospital, a CT scan revealed the true extent and severity of his injury. The force of the blow had fractured his larynx in multiple places and he needed emergency surgery. 
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<div>The surgeons inserted a breathing tube, placed Tom in an induced coma, put him on a ventilator and moved him to Intensive Care. This surgery, performed by incredible surgeons, saved his life that night and we will be forever grateful to them. 
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<div>The following morning, Tom was transferred to the ICU at Guys Hospital in London and was placed under the care of the ENT specialists. There was a lot of controversy over which method was the best way to treat Tom because of the rarity of his injury and the specialists had seen very, very few cases like this. After five and a half days in the induced coma, they performed a tracheostomy (inserted a tube into his throat) and he was woken up.
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<div>Three weeks on and Tom still remains at Guys Hospital. He is working extremely hard on his recovery and will continue to do so over the coming months. His tracheostomy tube has been removed in the last few days and although his vocal cords were heavily compromised from the injury, he is now thankfully able to talk. Tom is still unable to eat or drink orally but is working on rehabbing muscles in his throat to correct this hopefully in the near future. 
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<div>For people that know Tom, he is an incredible Dad to his twin boys and this time in the hospital for the past three weeks has been incredibly tough on him, his boys and his whole family. 
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<div>Tom runs his own business as a Sports Coach. He works across primary schools in Kent delivering PE Lessons, After School Clubs, Football Coaching Sessions and Half Term Holiday Camps.
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<div>In addition to the impact this has had on Tom’s health, this devastating injury has also put an inevitable financial strain on Tom and his family. 
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<div>Tom’s road to recovery is still uncertain and it is not yet clear when Tom will be able to return to work. All of Tom’s current planned work has been put on hold and therefore, so has his income. 
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<div>What I, as his friend, and his family are asking is that if anyone feels they would like to donate anything towards supporting the financial burden of this damaging injury, we will be so very grateful.
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<div>All donations will be put towards supporting Tom by giving him the time he needs to recover safely whilst lessening the stress and worry of his inability to work and earn an income at this moment in time. 
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David Hall

Anonymous

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Miss S Cary Serradas

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