An eight-year-old boy had a stroke at school just before his mum picked him up at home time. It was thought Kaiden Turner had initially fallen and hurt his leg and teachers were unable to make sense of what he was saying and it became apparent he wasn't feeling well at all.
His mum, Yvonne Williams, was picking up his younger sister at Deighton Primary School in Tredegar on Friday afternoon and rushed to her son's side after a teacher told her Kaiden was hurt. She said: "A teacher came for me to inform me Kaiden had had a fall and had hurt his leg. He said they weren’t getting much sense out of him and could I try and speak to him. Nothing could have prepared me for the scene. Minutes later when we walked around to him he was being violently sick and then he fell unconscious."
It was out of character for Kaiden who is normally "a very tough little boy who never cries when he falls over" and is always one for getting up and laughing it off. Tests later showed Kaiden had actually collapsed.
An ambulance arrived and called for the Air Ambulance and Kaiden was taken to Noah's Ark hospital in Cardiff by air. He was immediately taken for a scan where doctors found he'd had an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) which is a tangle of blood vessels in the brain. A blood vessel had burst causing a massive bleed on Kaiden's brain.
Kaiden, one of nine children, has been sedated since he arrived at hospital and has since been transferred to Bristol where he is due to undergo surgery on Wednesday. His mum said he's always been "very determined and strong-willed" having had to face the challenges of his autism. Yvonne - who lives in Tredegar - said a stroke is "very rare in children" and Kaiden now needs a procedure where doctors will look at all his vessels and decide what treatment he will have going forward. He has a blood clot deep in his brain that needs to be treated to prevent any further bleeds, she explained.
She added: "I’m feeling very up and down, devastated and heartbroken, like my whole world has been turned upside down." Kaiden's dad, Huw Turner, has similar feelings she said. "Peoples' support has been amazing," she continued. "To know so many people are thinking of him and praying for him is overwhelming and because of their kind generosity we are able to spend every minute with our beautiful boy."
A fundraiser has been set up for Kaiden and his family to help Yvonne and Huw stay at his bedside. They said: "We would like to put our pride aside for the sake of Kaiden’s parents to ask for some donations toward our goal. He is very special to each and every one of us and has done nothing but fight in his journey back to health, however the costs of staying in Cardiff as a family who lives in a small town is very expensive and this was very unexpected."
The family said monies raised were "to keep Kaiden's parents and youngest sister fed and comfortable and stable with essentials only".
An update on the fundraising page said Kaiden had improved since being admitted to hospital and had begun to lift his leg and arm.
Yvonne added that she was "dreading" the operation on Wednesday and was lloking forward to focussing on her "little soldier's" recovery afterwards.
You can donate to the fundraising page here.
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