My son was in a coma for four weeks – a visit from his heroes changed everything

Six weeks ago, Kathy Ingham got a call from her son who had been at the pub with his friends, and she thought it might be the last time she ever heard from him.

Her son, Kyle, 21, said to her down the phone: ‘I love you, I love my dad, I love my dog – but I can’t do this anymore.

‘I’ve got to go, my tram’s coming.’

Kyle jumped in front of that tram in an attempt to take his own life.

Kathy and Mark, Kyle’s dad, rushed to Shaw and Dunwood Park tram stops to try and find their son, but they knew what had happened when they heard police and ambulance sirens ringing around Shaw and Crompton.

Kyle had been ‘clinically dead’ at the scene, but doctors miraculously managed to bring him back.

He was put into a coma after suffering brain damage, broken ribs, a shattered hip and pelvis, injuries to his spine, facial fractures and an open fracture on his left hand.

Earlier that night, Kyle had been to Heyside Cricket Club, where he had played all his life, for a pint with his dad.

The’ ‘little nugget,’ a nickname he was given at the club when he was just a child, was ‘happy and bubbly, you wouldn’t have known anything was wrong,’ said his mum.

Kathy sits by her son’s bedside for 12 hours every day, and said ‘she cannot thank everyone who helped her son that night enough, because if it hadn’t been for them he would be dead.’

Kyle woke up from the coma four weeks later, on November 12, but was still highly sedated and could hardly open his eyes.

But everything changed when Kyle got a visit from his heroes at Oldham Athletic Football Club – Tom Conlon, Dan Gardner, Manny Monthe, Josh Lundstram and Jesurun Uchegbulam.

Kathy said: ‘Kyle could only open his eyes a little bit before they came, he wasn’t really responsive.

‘But as soon as Manny (Monthe) went to the side of the bed and said to him “You alright mate,” Kyle’s eyes went ping. They were fully open and he never shut them.

‘That lad knew who those players were, when they were all talking to him he had his eyes open the whole time.

‘I’ll never forget that day. They left him a signed football, a signed pin-up, they were amazing. They really were.’

Dan Gardner, Oldham’s centre midfielder and number 19, said their visit to see Kyle was an emotional one which put things into perspective.

He added: ‘I think we’d all be lying if we said that we weren’t holding back the tears that day.

‘The secretary at the club told us about Kyle and as soon as we heard we went straight there.

‘Seeing Kyle was scary, I’ve got a kid myself, so it put things into perspective.

‘It was a really touching moment, Kathy told us he hadn’t really opened his eyes before that – so we were buzzing that we were able to have that impact on him. It was a good day for him but also for us.

Oldham face Rochdale this weekend in a local derby.

Dan continued: ‘Kyle’s dad told me, “all me and Kyle want this weekend is three points.”

‘So that’s the aim, to get three points for Kyle.’

Every day since the Oldham Athletic visit, Kyle has been able to open his eyes. He’s even able to move his arms and make noises now.

The 21-year-old sport-lover is set to be in the hospital for more than a year, with doctors unsure whether he’ll ever make a full recovery.

‘We don’t know whether he’ll be able to talk again or look after himself, we just don’t know,’ said his mum.

‘But as long as he’s alive, then I’m happy.

‘The other day he was mumbling for about 15 minutes, and it just gets to you.

‘Any little bit of hope gets to you.’

Just last year, Kathy’s daughter, Aimee, fell off the back of a motorbike suffering life-changing injuries. She’s still learning to walk now.

Kathy said: ‘I raised £1,000 last year for the air ambulance because they saved my daughter’s life.

‘Next year I’ll be raising twice as much because they saved my lad’s life this time.

‘I cannot thank every single medic enough, I will never ever be able to repay them for what they’ve done.’

Just a couple of months before the night Kyle tried to take his life, he told his mum that he needed help.

Kathy took him to the doctors and he was referred, but Kyle didn’t get help in time.

Samaritans are here to listen, day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or visit samaritans.org for more information.

Kathy and her sister, Nicola Street, now want to make sure that other young men get the support they need before it’s too late.

She said: ‘I want to raise money for groups that support men’s mental health.

‘Young lads need more help. Men think that if you talk to somebody, you look weak.

‘If I can save just one person’s life, I’ll be happy. If I’ve saved one person from this trauma that I’m suffering then I’ll be happy.’

While Kathy has been at Salford Royal Hospital with Kyle, she’s seen multiple families lose their children to suicide.

Kathy and Kyle’s story is a tragic one – but one that she hopes will help other young men overcome their mental health struggles in the future.

Kathy says her ‘big friendly giant’ would have ‘done anything for anyone.’

She said: ‘He’s an amazing boy – he just doesn’t know it.’

• You can donate to Kathy’s GoFundMe page via this link –
  https://gofund.me/443e3524

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