Alfie, now aged 11, was playing outside near his home in early 2019 when he was struck by a getaway car fleeing the scene of a robbery. He was taken to Alder Hey hospital with major life threatening injuries and placed in an induced coma.
Six days later he regained consciousness and as his big brother Charlie said “I didn’t know how to feel when I first saw him, it wasn’t my brother”. There was so much for the family to take in, with so many professionals trying to keep Alfie alive.
Maria Wilson, Acquired Brain Injury Coordinator from the Child Brain Injury Trust was there to help, as she explains “when brain injury happens, you are thrown into an unknown world”. Alfie’s Dad John said “the doctors and nurses deal with this sort of thing all the time, but Maria sat down and explained a lot of it, and it made it a lot easier”. Maria was able to help with practical challenges such as getting help with the travel costs as Alfie’s parents made the journey to and from Alder Hey Hospital – it is often these seemingly small issues that make life a little easier once resolved.
Alfie worked hard to overcome a great many challenges, slowly and steadily learning to walk again, before returning home in March 2019. When Alfie went back to school Maria attended a Transition Meeting at his Junior School and offered support with Alfie’s special educational needs. Maria will be there to support Alfie and his family long into the future.
Lisa Turan CEO of the Child Brain Injury Trust explains “Maria’s role is funded entirely by donations from BBC Children in Need, and without the support of people across the UK we wouldn’t be able to do the work that we do.”
“We are very grateful to BBC Children in Need for the support they give us, and for making the video about Alfie’s story to raise awareness of childhood acquired brain injury and the devastating impact it has on families”.