Finley, 7, recovers in hospital after stroke

9:00am Wednesday 9th July 2008

A SEVEN-year-old boy is recovering in Bristol Children's Hospital after suffering a stroke.

Shocked parents of Finley Blythe, a talented young footballer from King's Stanley, could not believe it when doctors told them what had happened to their little boy.

"Until then he was a normal, active, football mad kid," said Finley's mum, Annette, 36.

Finley, a pupil at King's Stanley Infants School, had been complaining of headaches before accidentally crashing his bike into a bush, which alerted his parents that something might be wrong.

His mother took him to her GP and Finley was referred to a pediatrician at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital for a series of CT and MRI scans.

It emerged that Finley had blood clots on his brain, which is a symptom of a stroke, and this affected his peripheral vision.

Finley currently has tunnel vision and doctors are unsure how long he will have to remain in hospital.

The youngster was due to start training at Bristol City football club's youth development centre next month but has been forced to pull out as doctors say he cannot play sport for at least six months while tests continue.

"Even now we are struggling to come to terms with the whole thing," said Annette, a student nurse based in Bristol.

"He did not seem to be showing any of the typical signs of a stroke because he was walking and talking to people, so when we found out that was the case we could not believe what we were being told.

"All we hope is that he gets his full vision back soon so that his life can return to normal.

"He has had to go through so many tests but the doctors in Bristol have always made Finley their priority they have been absolutely brilliant.

"If we hadn't taken him to the doctors when we did it is horrible to think that his condition could have got even worse or that he could have suffered another stroke.

"We are very keen to push the research into this forward because at the moment there is just not enough known about it."

Finley's spirits were lifted on Saturday when his football team - King's Stanley under-8s - won a six-a-side tournament and his team mates travelled to Bristol to present him with the trophy in his hospital bed.

He has also received dozens of handmade cards and messages of support from staff and pupils at school.

Finley will be one of the first case studies for researchers from Bristol University who will monitor his condition over the course of the next year to learn more about the symptoms of childhood stroke.

Finley's Father Simon, 38, a former Bristol City player who runs the SB youth football centre in King's Stanley, is to donate a percentage of his profits toward's Finley's on-going recovery program at the hospital.

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