Woodbridge teen unable to move below waist after pool accident

Sixteen-year-old Ryan was like thousands of other GCSE students this summer as he celebrated being exam-free.

However, an accident at a swimming pool changed the course of his life.

After diving into a pool, the teenager, from Woodbridge, in Suffolk, hit his head at the bottom, sustained a spinal injury and had no movement below the waist.

The mother of one of his friends, Kate Hayward-Brackenbury, was keen to help with his recovery and has raised over £10,400.

“Ryan was at a gathering at a friend’s house just enjoying the summer holidays, they’d finished their GCSEs in June, they were having fun,” Mrs Hayward-Brackenbury, 49, also from Woodbridge, explained.

“He dived into a swimming pool but unfortunately over-dived and sustained a very serious spinal injury.

“They call it a C3 spinal injury where a bone quite high up in the neck is damaged severely and can put some pressure on the spinal cord.

“This led to various levels of loss of mobility.”

Ryan was rushed to the critical care unit at Ipswich Hospital and placed into an induced coma.

The nerves near the spinal cord, by the C3 vertebrae, can have an impact on a person’s breathing and lung clearing ability.

Due to this, and the damage to his spine, Ryan had to be ventilated and had a tracheotomy to help with his breathing while he was in the coma.

“The first three days were very hazy and then very quickly he was back as we know Ryan but without the mobility unfortunately from the waist down and limited by mobility in his arms and hands,” added Mrs Hayward-Brackenbury.

When Ryan’s overall health improved, he was moved from the critical care unit onto another ward.

Several weeks on from the accident, he is developing more mobility in his arms and can now sustain a grip for a short amount of time

However he still is unable to move from the waist down.

It was hoped he could eventually be moved to Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, where there is the internationally-renowned National Spinal Injuries Centre.

“It’s just a case of waiting for a place there,” Mrs Hayward-Brackenbury said.

“It’ll help him to lead the best life he can.

“He’s very determined – he’s quite funny, he says, ‘I’m going to go to Stoke Mandeville and I’m going to get hench, I’m going to get really strong and fit’.”

To help Ryan in his recovery, Mrs Hayward-Brackenbury was keen to fundraise.

She regularly takes part in runs and with an ultramarathon already planned, she decided to use the event to kickstart the campaign, Run for Ryan.

Eventually more and more people got involved helping to fundraise for Ryan with their own running events.

Mrs Hayward-Brackenbury said the response was “staggering and amazing”.

“It’s been quite uplifting for [Ryan and his family] to see that so many people care about them,” she added.

Initially, the team had a fundraising target of £1,500 but they have now raised over £10,400 which will go toward his rehabilitation needs including the hiring of wheelchair friendly travel when he comes out of hospital.

“Ryan said if there was any money left over he’d give it all to charity,” Mrs Hayward-Brackenbury said.

“He wants to help others and that attitude has really spurred people on.

“That’s what he’s like, always thinking about other people.”