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Videos show remarkable recovery of Chatham boy Jack Dolan who suffered brain damage after Margate pier flip

16:21, 01 August 2024

updated: 17:28, 01 August 2024

The family of a brain-damaged 15-year-old boy have released videos of him from his hospital bed showing his remarkable recovery.

Jack Dolan from Chatham has begun to speak and move again - something doctors told his family would never happen.

The teen was seriously injured after performing a flip off Stone Pier in Margate in June.

He was airlifted to hospital, where doctors later told his mum Lisa and step-dad David he was brain dead.

However, against the odds, Jack has started to move his arms and feet, face and utter words.

Videos shared by his family show the youngster trying to say what sounds like ‘mum’ and looking around the room.

He has also looked his mum in the eye from his hospital bed and said “help”, the family revealed last week.

Chatham boy Jack Dolan - brain-damaged after doing a flip of Stone Pier in Margate - has made a remarkable recovery. Picture: David Dolan
Chatham boy Jack Dolan - brain-damaged after doing a flip of Stone Pier in Margate - has made a remarkable recovery. Picture: David Dolan

David, who raised him from a young age, said: “He is lifting his head like a newborn baby does when they first learn head control.

“The only thing holding us up at the moment is getting a wheelchair for him.

“Then, we can start Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.

“Lisa is trying him on medication and food but he can’t go anywhere until he has the wheelchair.”

A JustGiving page - originally set up to help fund his funeral - has raised more than £36,000 for home adaptations and treatment costs.

Chatham boy Jack Dolan before his accident. Picture: David Dolan
Chatham boy Jack Dolan before his accident. Picture: David Dolan

The first round of oxygen therapy has been offered to Jack for free, however the next course will cost £8,000.

He will also require private physiotherapy - the costs of which are currently unknown.

Mr Dolan previously said: “Jack is blowing everything doctors said out of the water.

“He is moving his arms, wiggling his toes, holding eye contact and, while in pain with belly ache, looked his mum in the eye and said ‘help’.

“We are putting him into experimental private treatment to see how much of Jack we can get back.”

Jack Dolan - brain-damaged after doing a flip of Stone Pier - has started speaking agian. Picture: David Dolan
Jack Dolan - brain-damaged after doing a flip of Stone Pier - has started speaking agian. Picture: David Dolan

A charity boxing match called Hit Back for Jack is also being organised for October.

Since the accident, Jack has suffered from heart issues and seizures along with a chest infection and a collapsed lung.

However, while his family expected the chest infection to claim the 15-year-old’s life, he was able to fight it off with no medical intervention – even re-inflating his lung by himself.

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