RYLEY’S JOURNEY

Ryley was a fit and healthy 14 year old lad. He loved sport and ran competitively for a local athletics club, played football for a local team and was in the school athletics, football and rugby team.

The winter of 2015 Ryley trained hard in hope to get into the county team for sprinting, he started the season well in May 2016 winning the county champs at 100m with a PB. and was looking forward to a promising track season ahead.

On May 20th 2016 Ryley returned home from school got changed and raced off to our local village park to play football with his friends.

Later that evening Ryley was showering when he shouted out his head was hurting within minutes he collapsed, was unconscious and vomiting violently.

He was rushed to Peterborough hospital and then transferred to Addenbrooke’s Cambridge. There they discovered a severe life threatening bleed in his brain. He underwent emergency surgery to stem the bleed and remove a large part of his skull to allow his brain to swell.

Scans revealed he had an AVM (Arteriovenous Malformation) in his brain which had haemorrhaged causing a haemorrhagic stroke. After surgery Ryley was placed in an induced coma to allow his brain to recover, he spent 4weeks in PICU and a total of 3 months in Addenbrooke’s. During this time Ryley could not walk, talk, eat or do anything for himself he was like new born baby again.

Further scans revealed that parts of his brain were starved of oxygen leaving him with permanent damage effecting his mobility and movement.

In August 2016 Ryley was moved to Sunflowers a nurse led care home near Cambridge where he stayed until a place became available for him at The Children’s Trust rehabilitation centre for children with acquired brain injury in Surrey.

In October 2016 he returned to Addenbrookes for surgery to remove the AVM on his brain and fit a titanium plate to replace the skull he had had removed.

In November 2016 he moved down to The Children's Trust in Tadworth for a 4 month intense rehabilitation programme.

Finally in March 2017 after 10 months away he returned home.

Ryley’s injury has left him with long term upper body dystonia preventing him from walking and using his hands and arms effectively at the present time. He now uses an electronic communication system however his speech continues to improve, he has also lost his peripheral vision on his right side.

Ryley is making huge progress in all areas relearning the skills many of us take for granted in daily life. The key to his progression is getting the right therapy and equipment to help him reach his full potential and his dream of walking again independently.

Unfortunately funding from the LA is very limited this is where ROOT4RYLEY comes in.

Funds raised so far have helped with the many adaptations required to Ryley’s home to make his home life accessible and comfortable.

He travels to Leicester weekly to have much needed specialist neuro physio, this is costly but seeing how much improvement Ryley has made because of these sessions shows how extremely important they are.

Continuing to raise funds give the financial security that Ryley can continue with his therapy and fund any equipment he requires to further his progression.