Birmingham boy makes ‘miracle’ recovery after life threatening car crash
A Kings Heath teenager has made a ‘miracle’ recovery after being involved in a serious car accident.
Fourteen-year-old Jaden Payne needed to be cut out of a car following a road traffic accident in May 2017. He suffered a serious head injury, resulting in several small blood clots on his brain, which later formed into one large and life-threatening clot.
Experts at Birmingham Children’s Hospital performed a life-saving four-and-half-hour operation to remove the clot, before teams on both its specialist Paediatric Intensive Care Unit and Neurosurgery Ward cared for the Wheelers Lane Technology College pupil, now 15.
When waking from his coma, it quickly became apparent that Jaden had lost many of the basic skills needed to care for himself and intensive physio and occupational therapy would be needed to help him recover.
Now, just months later, thanks to his positivity, determination, bravery and with the help of the leading paediatric hospital, part of Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Jaden has made incredible progress and is able to do many of the things young people of his age take for granted.
He continues to work hard to correct issues with his balance, eyesight and short-term memory, but is working hard to continue his recovery so he can get back to playing sports, particularly football and athletics.
Jaden’s mum Suzanne Dottin-Payne, Professional Support Team Leader for Birmingham City Council, 53, and dad, Shawon Payne, Baggage Supervisor for Swissport at Birmingham International Airport, 49, said:
“Following Jaden’s surgery, the surgeon told us he felt positive and that we needed to be too. Jaden is a fighter and his optimism and determination have really shone through as he’s worked to make a quick recovery. We did not know if it was life or death when we first heard he’d been in an accident, but we had to remain positive and the fact that he’s made such a miraculous recovery is absolutely amazing.
“Since the accident, he has managed to go on a football tour to Barcelona with his school and is even looking forward to going back to joining his running club, Birchfield Harriers Athletic Academy, as long as he continues to make such good progress. We could not be more proud of Jaden and we are so thankful to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, his friends, family, his school for all of the support they have given us over the past few months and Sharon Machin, Regional Child and Family Support Coordinator from The Child Brain Injury Trust who has given us so much help and advice.
“As a Christian family, our faith is very strong and this is what has kept us going every day since Jaden was admitted to hospital until his discharge in July and this continues to this day.”
Sports super-fan Jaden, who will continue to see the team at the children’s hospital over the coming months, is now hoping to sit all of his GCSE exams this summer and hopefully secure a place at college where he wants to study to be a sports physiotherapist.
Ryan Deakin, Senior Physiotherapist at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“As a whole therapies team we’re really pleased with the progress Jaden has made in such a short space of time. While his accident does mean some lifestyle changes for him and his family, his excellent recovery really is a testament to his dedication and hard work, as well as the fantastic support he’s had from his family and friends and the on-going care he receives from the community therapy teams.”