Kyle Beere was a typically fit, healthy & intelligent twelve year old boy with a promising football career in front of him. On 14th November 2009 he walked into the accident and emergency unit with a severe headache. What was unknown at the time was that he was suffering a massive brain haemorrhage caused by a rare condition called Arteriovenous Malformations (AVM).

Kyle has so far had two major and two minor brain surgeries, along with a tracheostomy at the University Hospital of Wales (UHW). Thanks to his love for life and the excellent medical teams at the hospital, Kyle has defied all the odds and is making excellent progress every day. He is however, now in the unenviable position of having to relearn all cognitive and motor skills, e.g. learning to walk and talk again, that would have previously come naturally to him. We cannot underestimate the huge challenge that Kyle still has to face.

It has now come the time to begin his rehabilitation. Kyle’s family thought this would take place at either the new Children’s Hospital for Wales at UHW or at the long established rehabilitation centre at Rookwood Hospital.

Unbelievably, Rookwood only accepts patients of 16 years or older and there is no rehabilitation facility at UHW or anywhere else in Wales and the South West.

The nearest suitable facility is in Tadworth, Surrey (www.thechildrenstrust.org.uk), but this specialist facility is limited to 49 spaces. It is also 160 miles (3 hours) away from Kyle’s friends and family.

Although Kyle’s condition does not always result in such a catastrophic outcome, it can remain undetected for years and even life. The type of rehabilitation needed however is exactly the same rehabilitation any child could need if they are knocked off their bike, involved in a car-crash, fallen off any playground equipment or any other possible head trauma that many children are prone to suffer.

Your support is urgently needed to improve the medical care offered to those too young to defend their own rights.

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This site was last updated 02/18/10