A happy and healthy Tom Hilton, 12, now well on the road to recovery, back home with his parents, Chris and Emma.
WIGHT LIVINGIT has been a long road to recovery for a 12-year-old boy who suffered a brain haemorrhage after he was hit on the head by a cricket bat.
For the best part of 18 months, Tom Hilton has lived with severe headaches, confusion and forgetfulness, following a freak accident, which could have killed him.
Tom, who was aged ten at the time, was taking part in an end-of-year activity session on the school field at Bishop Lovett Middle School, Ryde.
It was the last day before the summer term and all the children in the year were playing games, when Tom walked in front of another pupil, just as he was swinging a cricket bat.
"I don’t remember everything about that day but the bat smacked me on the side of my face and even three days later the imprint of it was still there," said Tom, of Surrey Street, Ryde.
He was sent home from school but that evening he started drifting in and out of consciousness.
He was taken to St Mary’s Hospital, where he was violently sick on arrival, before being transferred to Southampton General Hospital by the Hampshire and IW Air Ambulance helicopter.
He suffered a massive brain haemorrhage, which doctors said had a death rate of about 30 per cent.
"When the school phoned me to say what had happened I knew it was bad but to hear Tom’s bleed was worse than we thought was devastating," said Tom’s mum, Emma.
Despite the severity of the haemorrhage, Tom didn’t require surgery because it disspated naturally.
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| The air ambulance that took Tom to hospital. |
He was kept in Southampton for eight days to be monitored while his brain reabsorbed blood but it could have been much worse, had he not been airlifted to the mainland.
"The Hampshire and IW Air Ambulance was amazing and the fact Tom was able to get specialist treatment in Southampton so quickly was thanks to them," said Emma.
But the worrying didn’t end for Emma and Tom’s dad, Chris, because when Tom got home, they wondered whether he would ever get better.
"At the start he was unable to take more than a few steps before he had to sit down again because of the pain and it was a horrific time," said Emma, who has only just returned to work after caring for Tom.
Before the accident, Tom was always full of life but for weeks he was confined to the sofa, at a time when it was the school summer holiday.
He didn’t leave the house for about a month and his injury badly affected his co-ordination, leaving him confused by things, which would usually be part of his normal routine, such as eating and staying at his grandparents’ house.
However, his brothers, Jack, ten, and Ben, one, plus his sister, Beth, eight, all helped to look after him.
"At night Jack would help out if Tom was poorly, Beth liked to mother him and little Ben gave him lots of cuddles," said Emma.
While he was ill, Tom’s visitors were only able to stay for a short time because he was always too tired, and it was six months after the accident before he could go back to school full time. "At first I went back for a few mornings and I had to wear a patch over my eye because it had drooped but all my friends wanted to try to it on," said Tom.
He was unable to go in the playground and had to leave lessons early to ensure he could move between classrooms without being bumped around by crowds of children.
Now, doctors have told Tom not to take part in physical activities for at least another six months, meaning he cannot be involved in school sports, including football and rugby.
And the accident has made him apprehensive about playing cricket again, which is his favourite sport.
"For ages I have felt like I am missing out on lots of things and although I love cricket, I am a bit nervous about playing," said Tom, who is in Year 8 and hopes to got to Ryde High School next year.
Now, Tom is almost back to his old self, even though he is still a little forgetful and suffers from the occasional headache.
"I’d say he is about 95 per cent there and we are so relieved he has made a great recovery because it’s been a real ordeal for Tom and the family," said Emma.
During Tom’s recovery, he and his family became actively involved with the Hampshire and IW Air Ambulance, particularly his grandparents, who are now volunteers with the charity.
Tom has been made a mascot and his picture will soon feature on all textile banks across the Island and Hampshire.
"So many positive things have happened since Tom’s accident and it’s great he wants to be involved more and more because he is a lovely lad," said Rosemarie Norman, of the Hampshire and IW Air Ambulance.
Tom’s accident has also made the charity even more determined to keep raising money, as it hopes to have a bigger helicopter by next summer.
"While Tom was flown to Southampton his family had to go by ferry because there was not enough room in the helicopter so we must keep fundraising," said Rosemarie.