A 12-year-old Welsh rugby player has undergone life-saving brain surgery two hours after suffering a blow to the head during a match.
Dylan Morgan, who plays full-back for Bargoed under-13s, was in action against Monmouth in the Dragons Cup on Sunday morning when he entered a ruck and took a knee to the head. Protocols were then followed and Dylan was thoroughly assessed, showing no sign of concussion and passing every test.
But shortly after, Dylan’s father, Chris, noticed his son’s positioning was off and that he was ‘wandering’ around the field, despite taking no contact since being originally assessed. At that point, he was taken off and very quickly it became apparent the situation was more serious than originally thought.
“Dylan was assessed on the pitch, I was there as well and he passed all the tests. He put his scrum cap back on and he was absolutely fine,” Chris Morgan told WalesOnline.
“Then four to five minutes later, I noticed that his position was wrong and he seemed to be just wandering. At that stage, we got his attention and we brought him off.
“From the point of being assessed and us bringing him off, he wasn’t involved in any contact whatsoever.
“The coaches felt that we should call 999. There was a former Army medic on the Monmouth side who came over and helped as well. The emergency services had been called and it was then a case of keeping him talking, keeping him responsive while we waited for the air ambulance.
“All the correct protocols were followed, he passed all of the tests initially. There was nothing to suggest that something had happened.”
Dylan was taken to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, where it became apparent he had an underlying condition. It was discovered that he had Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM), which is described as the tangling of blood vessels, restricting the flow of blood.
The condition, coupled with the blow he suffered to the head caused a blood vessel to burst, leading to a bleed on his brain. Neurosurgeons have said that, due to the nature of AVM and the pressure that builds in the vessels, this could have happened at any moment.
Given the wider conversation in the sport of rugby regarding concussions and head impacts, Dylan’s father Chris was keen to stress that what happened was essentially the result of an unknown condition.
“It transpired that Dylan had an underlying vascular issue, which nobody knew about. It’s quite rare and, sadly, the only real way of finding out about these is what happened to Dylan,” he said.
“We don’t want rugby to get a bad wrap here because the neurosurgeons said he could have just been walking down the street and this could have happened.
“The impact has caused one of these vessels to burst. That has caused a bleed on the brain. So yes, it was because of an impact but those vessels are intertwined and the older he gets, those vessels grow, more pressure gets put on them and it could have happened at any time.
“The neurosurgeons have told us we are fortunate this happened on a rugby pitch and was treated as a head injury. Otherwise, if he was found unconscious anywhere else, the first thought might not have been a head injury.”
Happily, Dylan has made significant progress since coming out of surgery on Sunday. He had initially lost movement in the left side of his body, which has now returned, he is sitting up in hospital and talking. On Friday morning, he asked if he could have a shower and go home.
He has been transferred to Bristol Children’s Hospital and undergone further tests regarding the AVM at Southmead Hospital. He will soon return to Cardiff and begin physiotherapy before eventually having another operation to correct the AVM further down the line.
“I said to Ryan, one of his coaches who is taking this pretty hard, ‘I know the first words that Dylan will say to me’ and it was exactly what happened,” said Chris.
“My wife and I were in the family room whilst Dylan was asleep and the nurse came up the ward waving at me and she said ‘Dylan’s asking what the score was!’ He could barely speak at that point.
“I didn’t have the heart to tell him the game was abandoned but we were winning at that point. He has made remarkable progress.”
Chris expects that this will have some lasting impact on his son but, at present, everyone is encouraged by how things are going.
“In truth, we haven’t asked them [about potential lasting issues] as yet,” he said. “What we’re seeing now is that Dylan can speak, the movement which wasn’t there has now returned. There is some weakness but they’re hoping to transfer him back to Cardiff in the next couple of days, where he’ll start physiotherapy on the left side, to build the strength.
“But in terms of damage, there must be some but they’re very happy with him and very encouraged by what he is doing considering he only came off the ventilator on Wednesday.
“In truth, the progress he’s made is remarkable.”
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