This is the moment a nine-year-old boy – who was shot in the head as a baby but miraculously survived despite being given a one per cent chance of pulling through – said thank you to the team who saved him.
Harry Studley, from South Bristol, has been left with lifelong conditions from the incident that happened when he was 18-months-old, but bravely stepped out to take part in a 5km walk for the Grand Appeal last month.
The nine-year-old made an incredible recovery – one that surgeons and doctors didn’t think was possible – after he was shot in the head at point blank range by a powerful air pistol when he was just 18 months old on July 1, 2016, in a crime that shocked the nation. He still has life-changing injuries and conditions from that moment and his dad Ed said walking 5km was a huge challenge for him.
He still suffers from epilepsy, partial blindness, weakness and other cognitive problems as a result of the high-powered air gun that left a pellet lodged in his brain, but his life was saved by the team at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, led by neurology consultant Mike Carter.
He was with the Grand Appeal team to welcome Harry and his dad Ed back to the Children’s Hospital, to receive a donation of more than £8,000, after people in Bristol got behind Harry’s effort in the Grand Appeal’s Grand Walk.
“The support he’s received has been incredible, with donations coming in from around the world,” said a spokesperson from the Grand Appeal. “Despite struggling with his mobility and tiredness during the walk on September 15, he completed the five kilometers,” she added.
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The money has been specially assigned to help parents and children in Bluebell Ward at the Children’s Hospital, where Harry spent months as a toddler.
“It was quite hard and challenging, but I really enjoyed it,” Harry said of the 5k walk, adding that the best bit was ‘reaching the end’.