A FORMER Arsenal academy player has been left a tetraplegic and needs 24-hour care after his drink was “spiked” on a night out.
Daniel Cain, 23, was fit and healthy footballer and qualified electrician until a night out with his friends took a devastating turn.
On June 9, 2020, the young footballer’s friends noticed he looked a “funny colour” and was not responding.
They called an ambulance for Daniel and attempted to perform CPR on him as they waited for paramedics to arrive.
After working on him for 24 minutes, paramedics finally got his heart beating again but his brain and spinal cord had been starved of oxygen.
Speaking to The Independent, his mum, Tracey Cain, said: “When I found out I just went into automatic mum mode.
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“I phoned his father who was at work and his sister came back from Essex.
“At around 3-4am in the morning they tried to prepare us that he was not going to wake up but I said to keep trying.
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“I wasn’t going to accept he wasn’t going to come around”.
Doctors told the family to be prepared that even if Daniel did wake up he would be in a vegetative state.
But after 25 days in a coma he defied all odds and “woke up”.
His cognitive function began to return, something that his mum describes as a “miracle”.
Daniel’s short-term memory was significantly damaged by his injuries but he could still remember things from his childhood and Tracey says that he is “gradually coming back and improving all the time”.
His sister, Natalie describes her brother as being an “avid” footballer and as well as Arsenal also played for Comets, Hemel Aces, and Hemel Town youth FC’s.
He is a qualified electrical service engineer and worked on some large global and domestic projects including Google Offices in Germany and Cross Rail at Bond Street Station in London.
His family hopes that one day he will be able to resume his hobbies and begin another career.
Two and a half years on Daniel is now at home with his family, but he needs round-the-clock care, something that his mum has taken on herself.
Daniel has also been given the opportunity to stand and walk again through an organisation called Neurokinex, which provides him with intensive rehabilitation therapy, but the treatment is only part-funded by the NHS.
His rehabilitation through Neurokinex costs £60 an hour, which means the family needs to find around £1,008 to £2,016 per month to give him the best chance of being able to walk again.
They have launched a GoFund Me campaign for the physio which is set to last a minimum of two to three years at a cost of £12,096 to £24, 192 per year.
Tracey said: “He responds really well to the physio – that’s like his happy place when he’s exercising. It’s more frustrating when he isn’t able to do it.”
Daniel’s sister Natalie insists that her brother is “not giving up” and wants to “keep his spirit and hope alive” by ensuring they have the funds to continue with the rehabilitation treatment.
Highlighting the difference continued treatment could make to Daniel’s life, she said: “He will be empowered to return to full physicality and strength, standing alone on his own two feet once again as well as resuming his previous hobbies and beginning a career.”
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She added that any donations would “make a world of difference” to her brother for the “rest of his life” and that even if people are unable to donate, sharing the link would “help immensely and mean so much” to her and her little brother.
You can find Daniel’s GoFundMe campaign HERE
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
