A 17-year-old boy has been left paralysed from the neck down after falling from the sofa while playing with his dogs.
Harvey Leyland, from Wigan, was messing about with his two dogs Hugo and Charlie in July when one of them started to drag a cushion off the couch, causing Harvey to land head-first on the tiled floor.
The impact caused the weight of his body to crush his spinal cord and left him paralysed.
Before the freak accident occurred, Harvey was an active young lad who was a keen horse rider and could often be found helping out down at a stables near to his home.
Now, he is confined to a wheelchair that he must operate with his chin.
His mum, Angela, has also now been told that their family home is not suitable for someone with Harvey's extra needs and will have to be drastically altered to allow him to stay at home.
To that end, she has set up a fundraising page to convert their home and allow Harvey to stay with his family.
Angela said: "I was out at the time it happened, I remember getting a call from my partner who told me to come home.
"As soon as I learned what happened I rushed to the hospital.
"When I arrived I collapsed in the corridor, I couldn't believe what was happening. My mind was racing.
"I still feel like I'm in limbo.
"To see your child go from running around and being active to this is heartbreaking.
"Harvey just wants to come home and I'm desperate to make that happen. I just want my son back."
After the accident, Harvey managed to get upstairs to bed but suffered a seizure moments later. His brother Bradley heard Harvey struggling and raised the alarm.
Angela's partner Philip called an ambulance and he was rushed off to hospital. After spending four days in a coma at Wigan's Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, he was transferred to Salford Royal Hospital.
In the weeks that followed, Harvey couldn't speak, eat, or drink.
Angela continued: "I remember the first time he spoke to us after the accident.
"Nurses removed his tube and he said hello to the whole family.
"I broke down in tears of joy."
"I thought he would start improving in other areas too, that everything would go back to normal.
"So to be told that he would be paralysed for life was another blow."
Then, to make matters worse, Harvey went into septic shock when his body rejected the catheter that he'd had fitted.
His mum explained: "I thought we were going to lose him.
"It was the worst feeling, I was terrified."
Harvey has to stay in hospital in Southport for four more months, but Angela hopes they can now raise the money to modify their home so he can return.
She added: "Because of his wheelchair he'd be trapped in his bedroom completely.
"I can't let that happen to him. He's only 17, it's not fair on him.
"We didn't know something like this was going to happen, so we haven't got the savings to make the changes. He's only 17 and because this kind of injury is rare for someone so young, he'd be in a home with older people.
"He needs people his own age - he needs his family around him. Knowing that he might not be able to come home is having a negative effect on his mental health.
"He's a mummy's boy, he's more like a 14-year-old at heart and he just wants to come home.
"It's amazing the help we've received. But we still have a long way to go."
Advert
You can donate to Harvey's cause here.
Featured Image Credit: Caters