A 13-year-old rugby player will have life-saving surgery after an underlying brain issue was discovered following an incident on the field.
Last October, Dylan Morgan was playing for Bargoed under-13s in a Dragons Cup Match against Monmouth RFC when he entered a ruck and took a knee to the head. He sustained a significant head injury which led to him being put into an induced coma. You can read more about the incident here.
Dylan was initially tended to by the Welsh Air Ambulance who treated him on the pitch but the pressure inside the helicopter cabin was deemed dangerous for Dylan so they waited for the regular ambulance and rode with him to Heath Hospital in Cardiff.
In the immediate aftermath of the accident, the medical professionals found an underlying health condition with the veins in his brain, which is known as Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM). It is described as the tangling of blood vessels, restricting the flow of blood. If it went undiscovered and therefore left untreated, he could have died before the age of 20.
Dylan's father Chris Morgan explained that just after the initial operation, he was transferred down to Bristol Children's Hospital to undergo an AVM angiogram.
They discovered that Dylan's AVM was quite deep in his brain, which means the blood vessels that connect the arteries and veins in the brain were tangled. The family were then told that the operation to remove the AVM would need to take place within eight weeks of the initial life-saving surgery.
Dylan spent roughly three weeks in hospital after the initial operation, but dad Chris says his son responded incredibly well.
"We were told that on the left-hand side there would be a possible permanent weakness. Rehabilitation would take up to 12 weeks. He was actually out of hospital after the initial operation after he was transferred back from Bristol to Cardiff within 10 days, and right now there is no weakness at all on his left-hand side.
"He recovered exceptionally well from the initial operation and it's just been a question of waiting to get a date for the second operation. That's where we are."
The video below shows Dylan on his feet within 12 days of the operation.
The second surgery could have only been done in Bristol, as Cardiff were not specialised in AVM in children. It was first pushed back from the middle to the end of December, but was pushed back again to the end of January. Dylan had tests in early January in preparation for his operation, but it was then pushed back to the end of February.
After raising concerns over delays, the family have been given a date of this coming Friday, where Dylan will undergo a 12-hour operation. The process will put a piece of his skull back in place, as at the moment it's in his abdomen, where it's "basically being kept alive".
A number of fundraisers have been set up to help raise money for the Welsh Air Ambulance, who helped save Dylan's life, as well as Noah's Ark Trust and Hospital. The ambulance service operate purely on donations, and need to raise £8million per year to operate, so Dylan's friends, family and community wanted to give back.
"To think that a charity like the (Welsh) Air Ambulance has ultimately saved Dylan's life and there's no government funding for it is crazy. Although Dylan wasn't airlifted to hospital because of the pressure from the cabin, the three crew that were there, a registrar, a doctor and a junior doctor, they rode with Dylan in the ambulance. If they weren't there, it would have been a very, very different outcome.
"Unbelievably one of the doctors on board that flight was a neuro consultant. A lot of luck happened that day. To think that if they weren't there, we would have been looking at a very different outcome.
"He was going over to the Grange Hospital initially, and if that had happened it's likely he wouldn't be here now, because he was operated on within two hours of the incident happening. As the neurosurgeon said, any further delay would have resulted either in death or a disabled child. Everything fell into place that morning. To think that what saved his life was ultimately a charity, and they get no government support, in truth it's a little bit scary."
Bargoed RFC, who Dylan plays for, have done a sponsored walk to raise money for the air ambulance and Noah's Ark. Monmouth RFC arranged a virtual bike ride from Monmouth Rugby Club to Bargoed and back, which raised roughly £1,600. Dylan's team, Bargoed RFC under 13s, raised £4,200, whilst Bargoed RFC themselves raised £2,000.
After the first operation, Dylan was kept in hospital for a few days before returning back home. He's not been back in school yet, but has been working from home in "limited amounts".
Dylan's teacher at Islwyn High School, Ben Brown, got in contact with Chris to say the school were also doing a fundraiser to raise money for the Welsh Air Ambulance.
Teacher Ben also runs key stage rugby for year 7, 8 and 9, so has been Dylan's coach for the past two school years. He explained it was a tough day breaking the news of the injury to his Year 8 pupils, many of them Dylan's friends.
"It was a very, very sombre day. It was a very tough day for teachers and Year 8 pupils alike. There were a couple of pupils who were crying, and those who were very much not themselves.
"The sigh of relief when we were able to tell them it was good news, Dylan was awake, Dylan was at home. We told them in assembly on the Friday afterwards, after the weekend it had happened. There was a massive sigh of relief, we sent out a little message too, and everyone was really happy. As a year group they tackled it quite head on and did themselves proud in a sense.
"As young people they shouldn't have to worry about their friends suffering significant head injuries that could be fatal. For them to tackle it head on as well as Dylan, it's a testament to the maturity and bravery of our Year 8s.
Ben put on the 'Spinathon' fundraiser to help raise money for the Air Ambulance. A total of 126 pupils volunteered to take part in the event, each to complete a 20-minute leg on the spin bikes in the school gym.
The goal was to reach 400 miles on the bikes as a school, and that number represents the number of people the Welsh Air Ambulance rescues per year under the age of 18. This target was smashed by breaktime in the school day, so they doubled it to 800. Across the seven-hour fundraising event, they cycled 841 miles.
At the time of writing, they have raised £1,010.
Dylan even joined in with the event, and cycled for a full hour, going three times as long as the other students, racking up 20 miles in the process. The fundraiser even happened to be on his 13th birthday, which was a nice present for the teenager.
"It all fell perfectly on his 13th birthday. As a school, we got him a cake, all the boys that were there with him in the last groups were there with him singing 'Happy Birthday' to him."
Dad Chris says the support has been "unbelievable" at the fundraisers.
"The amount of people that donated. Not just to the school, but to Monmouth Rugby Club who raised money because of what happened. Just people that... they don't know Dylan, we don't know them. Honestly, we started (the fundraiser) at the rugby club, finishing at Newbridge, and there were people in cars stopping putting money into the collection bucket. It's been fantastic.
"We're going through a cost of living crisis and for people to stop in their cars and put in notes, coins, it's been incredible and hopefully it goes a long way to helping these charities. As I said, it is scary to think that charitable donations are what's keeping these three helicopters in the air."
Outside of school Dylan has been attending football and rugby training where he's getting a chance to socialise with his friends where he does "basic passing and running", but is understandably some way off full contact.
Dylan hopes that he can play rugby again, as teacher Ben explained he is "so passionate about it".
"He's always working hard on it, he worked hard through the summer with Welsh rugby player Chris Czekaj to build up his skills and get to a position where he could push as high on as he could. For him to have suffered this injury, it's really unfair on him. It's a massive setback but he is determined to push it aside and go on and play rugby again."
Dad Chris explained that it has been frustrating that the operation has been delayed so many times, but recognises the strain that the NHS is under.
"For a 13-year-old lad to go through what he's been through, he just wants to get back to normal - playing sport again. For him to have gone through what he's gone through and then it (operation) just gets continually delayed, for an operation that ultimately will save his life.
"Right now, there is an 8% chance of a re-bleed for this AVM, and if it does rebleed, there is a 25% chance it will kill Dylan.
"That percentage increases by 4% every year if it's not removed. That's what the consultants told us. Listen, 4/5% of a re-bleed doesn't sound massive but if it does happen and there's a 25% chance that it will kill him, then we have been very frustrated that this has been continually delayed for this amount of time.
"We're talking almost five months on from when it happened and it should have been done eight weeks after the initial surgery. We are frustrated.
"Dylan has been fantastic in fairness to him. He just wants to get back to normal, he's been so positive.
"It's been a little bit of an inspiration to us really, and to others as well. He's continued to go rugby training, although he can't do any contact. He's done some running, he does the fitness stuff as well, he's been fantastic but it has been frustrating having to wait this amount of time to have an operation of this significance completed, in truth."
Dylan and his family had a meeting with surgeons on December 21, and asked the question that he desperately wanted an answer to - could he play rugby again?
They explained that once the AVM is removed, the problem is essentially removed too. It can't grow back either, because there is simply nothing there to grow. With regard to Dylan and rugby, it will depend on how quickly the skull fuses back together, and more importantly, it it does fuse. There is a 10% chance that the skull won't fuse back together, and if that's the case then he will need titanium put over his skull.
The family are heading to Bristol on Wednesday, where Dylan will have an MRI. He will then be admitted on Thursday, before his 12-hour operation begins on Friday morning.
You can contribute to the Welsh Air Ambulance and fundraisers below.
Donate to the Welsh Air Ambulance here.
Read next:
