A YOUNG road accident victim has astonished his family and doctors by going from coma to starting high school in just 11 weeks.
Cyclist Harry Davies, 11, suffered the worst brain injuries medics had ever seen when he was involved in a crash with a van near his home in East Lothian.
Harry suffered a six-inch skull fracture and was put in a coma in a successful bid to save his life following the June 3 accident.
Brave Harry not only survived the accident but recovered enough to start his high school career at Knox Academy, Haddington.
And Harry, of nearby Pencaitland, is now looking forward to resuming his favourite sporting activity – high diving.
Dad Nick, 46, said: “He’s doing remarkably well. We’re just happy to get him home.
“He wants to play football but he can’t do that in case he bumps his head.
“He finds that difficult but that will change. He had just got into diving lessons at the Commonwealth Pool [in Edinburgh].”
Harry had been walking home from school on the B6363 with his best friend Douglas Simpson, 12.
After the collision, Douglas was thrown into a nearby verge, but escaped with only minor injuries as he landed on bushes.
Harry landed in the road head-first, suffering a fracture to his skull and cheekbone, and was rushed to hospital.
Doctors had to install a bolt into his head to reduce swelling and put him into a coma because his injuries were so severe.
But less than two weeks later Harry was sitting up at Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children and smiling.
His mum Lisa, 46, said at the time: “The neurologist said he had not seen this level of trauma in the brain of a child before.
“He’s been quite lucky and he’s a fighter.”
Earlier this month his mum Lisa, 46, threw an “H in the Park” homecoming party for him, with around 100 of his friends turning up to a nearby park.
And on Wednesday this week he had his first day at Knox Academy.
Nick said Harry had been delighted to hear from Daley, presenter of the ITV show Splash!: “The thing he’s really keen on is diving.
His friend wrote to Tom Daley and he Tom Daley sent him a photo saying ‘all the best.’
“He was chuffed to bits.”
Police said a 23-year-old man had been charged with careless driving in relation to the June accident.
