TEENAGER Harvey Leyland loved playing with his dogs.
The 17-year-old thought nothing of a game of tug of war with his pet pooches Hugo and Charlie, until one tragic day in July.
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While playing on the sofa, Harvey was pulled off and hit the ground head first.
The freak accident left the teen paralysed from the neck down, and wheelchair bound, mum Angela said.
The 57-year-old, is now desperately trying to raise a huge £50,000 needed to adapt their home for Harvey’s medical needs so he can return home from hospital.
Harvey’s accident happened when his pooch Hugo, a British bulldog, began to tug on the cushion that Harvey was lying on and pulled it off the sofa.
This catapulted Harvey towards the floor head first, with the weight of his body crushing his spinal cord.
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The accident, left the formerly active teenager, who regularly showed horses and could often be found down at his local stables, unable to move without the help of a wheelchair he operates with his chin.
Talking about the horrifying day Harvey was left paralysed, Angela said: “I was out at the time it happened, I remember getting a call from my partner who told me to come home.
“As soon as I learned what happened I rushed to the hospital.
“When I arrived I collapsed in the corridor, I couldn’t believe what was happening. My mind was racing.
“I still feel like I’m in limbo.
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“To see your child go from running around and being active to this is heartbreaking.
“Harvey just wants to come home and I’m desperate to make that happen. I just want my son back.”
After Harvey’s fall, the teen managed to make his way upstairs to bed to rest, but suffered a seizure moments later.
To see your child go from running around and being active to this is heartbreaking
Angela Leyland
His older brother Bradley heard the commotion before Angela’s partner Philip rushed in and called for an ambulance.
In the seven minutes it took paramedics to arrive, Harvey began struggling to breathe and was unable to communicate.
Paramedics blue-lighted him to the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan, where he was placed in an induced coma to relieve the pressure on his body.
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Harvey was kept in a coma for four days, during which he was transferred to the spinal unit in Salford Royal Hospital.
Doctors were initially unsure about any lasting damage, but after and MRI scan found that Harvey had suffered two mini strokes and one spinal stroke which resulted in injury to his vertebrae.
For the first couple of weeks, Harvey was even unable to eat, drink or talk by himself, instead relying on a feeding tube.
Angela said: “I remember the first time he spoke to us after the accident.
“Nurses removed his tube and he said hello to the whole family.
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“I broke down in tears of joy.
“I thought he would start improving in other areas too, that everything would go back to normal.
“So to be told that he would be paralysed for life was another blow.”
Despite showing slight improvements, at the start of August, Harvey’s body began to reject his catheter.
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The area became infected and his body went into septic shock.
Angela said: “I thought we were going to lose him.
“It was the worst feeling, I was terrified.”
Harvey has since been moved to Southport, where he remains under observation and receives regular physiotherapy.
Four weeks ago, he regained the ability to move his right index finger.
It gave the family new hope, but after further tests, doctors couldn’t find any signals going to the nerves in the left side of his body or legs and believe he’ll never regain the ability to move.
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Harvey is due to remain in hospital for the next four months until doctors are happy enough with his progress.
But Angela has been told that her home is inadequate for him to return to and while the council have said they will pay for a hoist, special bed and dedicated wet room Angela believes it isn’t enough.
She said: “Because of his wheelchair he’d be trapped in his bedroom completely.
“I can’t let that happen to him.
“He’s only 17, it’s not fair on him.”
What is paralysis?
Paralysis is the loss of the ability to move some or all of the body.
It can have lots of different causes, some of which can be serious.
Depending on the cause, it may be temporary or permanent.
The main symptom of paralysis is the inability to move part of your body, or not being able to move at all.
It can start suddenly or gradually. Sometimes it comes and goes.
Paralysis can affect any part of the body, including:
- the face
- the hands
- one arm or leg (monoplegia)
- one side of the body (hemiplegia)
- both legs (paraplegia)
- both arms and legs (tetraplegia or quadriplegia)
The affected part of the your body may also be:
- stiff (spastic paralysis), with occasional muscle spasms
- floppy (flaccid paralysis)
- numb, painful or tingly
The mum-of-two wants to convert their garage into a special bedroom for Harvey and convert the ground floor to an open plan design – allowing Harvey to move from room to room by himself in his wheelchair.
The only other option for the family is to send Harvey to a care home full time but it’s something his family are desperate to avoid.
The family have set up a fundraising page to gather the huge £50,000 needed to adapt their home and have been overwhelmed by the support so far.
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Angela said: “We didn’t know something like this was going to happen, so we haven’t got the savings to make the changes.
“He’s only 17 and because this kind of injury is rare for someone so young, he’d be in a home with older people.
“He needs people his own age – he needs his family around him.
“Knowing that he might not be able to come home is having a negative effect on his mental health.
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“He’s a mummy’s boy, he’s more like a 14 year old at heart and he just wants to come home.
“It’s amazing the help we’ve received.
“But we still have a long way to go.”
You can find out more or to donate to the fundraiser here.
