Earlier in March, Tom, a 20-year old Bristol Rovers fan had his life turned upside down, when he was knocked off his bike at speed on the A4174.
Sent tumbling to the ground, Tom was then struck by a further two vehicles, exacerbating the extent of his injuries.
His parents were notified and escorted by blue lights to see Tom moments before he underwent vital surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain. At this moment, his parents thought they ‘were saying their last goodbye to their darling boy.’
The surgery was a success, but the extent of Tom’s injuries was daunting, he spent the next 5 days fully sedated and on full ventilation.
Since then, he has woken up and begun breathing for himself, but he is still unable to eat and drink and can only speak very few words.
When Tom eventually recovers and is able to leave intensive care, his world will be very different due to the severity of his brain injury. He will need to learn to do many things that we as humans take for granted.
Subsequently, his family have set up a GoFundMe page to support Tom when he leaves hospital, and help him adapt to the new world and new challenges he faces.
As said at the top of this article, the past few days have shown the immeasurable importance of the community and fanbase attached to football clubs up and down the country. This club prides itself on the support, whom without, we would not be where we are today.
We ask supporters to donate in any way they can to help Tom in his recovery, you can donate here – thank you in advance.