An East Lothian mum's quick thinking may have been what saved her son's life after he suddenly fell ill on a pumpkin picking trip.
Josh Pollard, 9, was rushed into emergency brain surgery at the Edinburgh Sick Kids in October 2021, after suffering a clot which paralysed one side of his body. Showing no prior symptoms that anything was wrong, Josh and his mum Jayne had headed for a family day out when he began to complain of 'feeling sick.'
Starting to become unresponsive, Jayne had quickly dialled 999 and Josh was rushed into an ambulance, where he suffered four seizures alone on the way to hospital.
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Speaking about the horrific ordeal, Josh's dad, Ben, said his wife's quick reaction was what meant they were able to reach medics in time.
He said: “Jayne’s son Jack, who’s 21 now, had been in hospital a lot as a child. I was nowhere near as prepared.
"It all started one afternoon, when Josh and his mum were out pumpkin picking. He’d complained of feeling sick, and Jayne rang me to tell me what was happening. Things escalated quickly and soon, he was completely unresponsive, so Jayne phoned an ambulance. In those 15 minutes, Josh had had four seizures – we later found out he may not have made it, had Jayne not acted so swiftly.”
Josh was taken to Edinburgh Children’s Hospital, where doctors discovered an arterial venous malformation in his brain. It meant a cluster of veins in his head were not regulating pressure correctly.
Ben said: “The doctors later told us they’d likely been swelling for up to a year – and had eventually exploded. This formed a clot on the left-hand side of his brain, which paralysed the entire right side of his body. He couldn’t walk or talk – he was essentially a new-born at nine years old. As we waited in hospital, we were told he would have to be operated on immediately.”
Josh spent four days in intensive care and would need another operation three weeks later. After their second night, the family was offered a room at Ronald McDonald House Edinburgh.
Ben added: “We’d never heard of the Charity before, but they were so welcoming. I was absolutely taken aback by it all. The kitchen was amazing; we had our own fridge space and our own independence – but communal areas when we needed them.”
Coming through his second operation, Josh was left unable to walk or talk for weeks, and was in hospital for a total of four months recovering with daily occupational therapy and physiotherapy.
However, by Christmas, he had been well enough to gain 'weekend passes' to the neighbouring House, to spend time with his family away from the ward.
Eventually discharged in February, the Pollards were the second longest staying residents at the House, and have now embarked on a number of fundraisers to support the charity.
Helen Zollinger, Community Fundraiser for Scotland at Ronald McDonald House Charities UK, said: “We are so pleased to have been able to support Ben, Jayne and their children when Josh was having treatment in hospital and are delighted to hear that he is going from strength to strength on his long road to recovery. It’s great that the family has stayed in touch with us and other families they met in the House – it’s testament to how important the peer support we provide can be.
"As an independent Charity, we receive no government funding and rely heavily on the generosity of our supporters to help us provide families with a ‘home away from home’ close to their sick child. We thank the Pollard family and their supporters sincerely for their fundraising efforts and for helping to raise awareness of the invaluable service we offer families during their time of need.”
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