When a child is in pain, everyone around them hurts.
Just £5 can help us make families like Daniel’s stronger
Daniel, aged six, was out in the garden at home playing on a bouncy castle. It was a normal day for the family. Daniel’s dad, Bernie called him in for his dinner.
Then, when Daniel came in he dropped to the floor. Jenny, Daniel’s mum said “when he came in, it was just a split second and then he collapsed. Then it was that scream. That horrible scream. I was saying if you can hear me squeeze my hand. Just keep squeezing my hand. Squeeze it; all the time. That’s when we got the ambulance.”
When the family got to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital Daniel was rushed in. There were doctors everywhere. Jenny and Bernie were told that Daniel’s condition was really serious.
Daniel had suffered a major bleed on the brain. He then suffered two more bleeds over five days.
Daniel’s sister said “at the beginning he was just really still. You couldn’t tell it was my brother. I was expecting him to get up and say “Hi Beth. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me!” but he didn’t. He just stayed still.”
Daniel was in Hospital for seven months. In this time, Daniel had over 12 operations. He had to learn to walk and talk all over again. Daniel’s older sister, Beth (aged 11) stayed with her grandparents so she could continue going to school.
Doctors battled to save Daniel’s life. There were lots of health professionals trying to help but because of the shock, Bernie and Jenny said they were unable to process what they were told.
Thankfully the Child Brain Injury Trust was there to help make sense of it all.
Hospital staff introduced Jenny and Bernie to Fiona: the charity’s Child and family Support Co-ordinator for the North West. Fiona said “When you go into an acute hospital setting, it is very isolating. It is very disorientating. Being able to support families from those very early days and beyond is incredible.”
Because of our donors’ support, the charity was able to provide a mixture of practical and emotional support to the whole family. The charity supported the family in many ways from liaising with mum and dad’s employers to applying for welfare benefits to help look after Daniel. Later the charity helped Jenny and Bernie pursue the support Daniel needs in school. Whenever the family needed a home visit the charity would respond. We were there.
The Child Brain Injury Trust helped Beth too by answering her questions in a way which Beth could understand. They also helped find holiday activities for Beth so she didn’t have to spend the Summer holidays in hospital.
Jenny and Bernie describe the charity’s support “as if she (Fiona) waves a magic wand and everything is demystified. Everything becomes clear.” “You can speak to her on your level. She knows what you’re going through. If we didn’t understand what the doctors were talking about we’d ask Fiona.”
Now, Daniel is so much better but cannot swallow so is fed through a tube in his stomach. He needs help with everyday tasks. Because of this, Bernie has had to give up working to care for him. Beth also helps.
Daniel may well face more difficulties as he grows. We will continue to be there for the whole family as long as they need us.
Please help us to help more wonderful families’ like Daniel’s by donating today. Thank you.
If your family needs support following an acquired brain injury, contact our Helpline on 0303 303 2248 or via Helpline@cbituk.org.
For more information on support for siblings, check out our Factsheet, or our recorded webinar. Please note: you will first need to register for our online Learning Catalogue which you can do here.