Trimsaran boy making progress after stroke during training, rugby club says

Eight-year-old Brooklyn May suffered a stroke four minutes into a rugby practice session

An eight-year-old boy who suffered a stroke during a rugby training session is making progress every day, according to his coach.

Brooklyn May had just started warming up on Tuesday evening for Trimsaran RFC juniors in Carmarthenshire.

Chairman of the club's junior section, Gavin O'Shea, said within four minutes of training starting an ambulance had been called.

Almost £5,000 has been raised by the club to help support the family.

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Mr O'Shea said: "The session began at 5.30pm, as it does every week, and by 5.34pm we were phoning for an ambulance.

"We'd only just finished the sanitising process, due to Covid rules, and the children were running over to the other side of the field.

"Brooklyn had only run about 10m when he collapsed."

'A massive shock'

Two of the coaches present were qualified first aiders and attended to him immediately.

He was taken to Carmarthen's Glangwili Hospital then airlifted to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.

"It's been a massive shock," said Mr O'Shea.

"You just never think that a fit and healthy eight-year-old who plays rugby can have a stroke.

"It's just not something that crossed our minds.

"My son plays with Brooklyn and it just makes you think, it could happen to anyone.

"But it was a blessing in a way that it happened during training when there were people around to help him."

Brooklyn, from Trimsaran, has been a member of the club since he was six.

He was due to play in the club's first game on Sunday against Burry Port.

The club has confirmed there will be a minute's clap before the start of the game and a video will be sent to Brooklyn in hospital.

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A fundraising page has been set up by the club to raise money for the family.

The club said it and the family had been overwhelmed by the response and almost £5,000 has now been donated.

"We're just wishing him all the best for a speedy recovery and that this money will help the family - who have two other children as well as Brooklyn - with their travel costs as they stay with him through this difficult time," Mr O'Shea said.

According to the Stroke Association, five in every 100,000 children in the UK will be affected by a stroke.