Boy, 11, wakes from two week coma after suffering 'worst head injury medics had ever seen'

  • Harry Davies was cycling home from school when he was hit by a car
  • Schoolboy landed head first in the road - causing a six-inch skull fracture
  • Neurologists at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh said it was the 'worst head injury they'd ever seen'
  • He woke from a medically-induced coma on Sunday and is recovering well

By SUZANNAH HILLS

Published: | Updated:

A schoolboy who suffered the worst brain injury 'medics had ever seen' has stunned doctors after waking from a two week coma.

Harry Davies, 11, was cycling home from school when he was knocked down by a car and thrown head first on to the road.

The pupil suffered a large six-inch fracture in his skull, despite wearing a bike helmet, which neurologists described as the worst head injury they'd ever seen.

Harry, from Pencaitland, East Lothian, in Scotland, was rushed to hospital where he was placed in a medically-induced coma on June 3 while doctors inserted a bolt in his skull to reduce the swelling of his brain. 

Harry recovering in hospital

Remarkable: Harry Davies, 11, pictured recovering in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh after waking up from a two-week-long coma

But two weeks later, Harry amazed doctors when he woke up on Sunday and he is now sitting up, eating and drinking, and talking to friends and family. 

His mother Lisa, 46, said: 'He was knocked off his bike and hit his head. He had a six-inch crack in his skull and he had a fractured cheekbone. But it was the opposite side of the brain that was damaged because of the ricochet effect.

'The neurologist said he had not seen this level of trauma in the brain of a child before. He's been quite lucky and he's a fighter.'

The bolt, which Harry's parents say the schoolboy jokingly refers to as his 'Dalek bolt', will remain his head until his skull has almost fully healed. 

Harry Davies, 11, suffered a six-inch fracture in his skull after being knocked over by a car as he cycled home from school

Injury: Harry Davies, 11, was placed in a medically-induced coma after he was knocked over by a car and thrown head first on to the road causing a six-inch fracture in his skull

Mrs Davies, who works for a mobile phone company said: 'After about a week we were told that they expected Harry to recover.

'He was woken up from the coma after one week but he wasn't able to handle it, so doctors put him back to sleep for another week to let his brain recover. After that he woke up and was able to cope with it.

'He is really making progress. He's talking to people and he recognises his family and friends. 'He's sitting up and is able to eat and drink. He is looking really well.'

His father Nick, 46, said added that he couldn't have wished for a better Father's Day present when his son woke up on Sunday.

Since waking, the schoolboy has made such a quick recovery he was even able to bypass the high-dependency unit at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh and go straight to a neurology ward.

Harry, pictured left, was on his way home with friends Douglas, right, when he knocked down by a car and thrown head first on to the road

Casualty: Harry, pictured left, was cycling home with his friend Douglas, pictured right, when he was knocked down by a car. He was then rushed to hospital where neurologists said his skull fracture was the worst head injury they'd ever seen

His mother continued: 'He should have gone from intensive care to high dependency, but he's on the neurology ward.'

Harry had been cycling home with his best friend, 12-year-old Douglas Simpson, when he was struck by the car. Douglas, who was on foot, was also hit but landed in a soft verge and escaped unharmed.

Harry was fortunate not to be killed outright - with doctors claiming his helmet is the only reason he survived.

Mrs Davies added: 'Medical staff told us that if Harry hadn't been wearing a helmet he would have died. He's always been very safety conscious and he wouldn't have got on a bike without a helmet.'

Police Scotland said they were continuing to appeal for witnesses over the incident.




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