A motocross-loving teenager left paralysed after a crash while riding with his father spent his 18th birthday in hospital.
James Wilson, who had been an ‘avid racer’ since he was 10, was in Oxfordshire for a race weekend when he fell off his bike.
The crash left James with a broken back and damage to his spinal cord.
After an examination by doctors, the teenager’s spinal cord injury was found to be serious – making it unlikely he will walk again.
The accident unfolded just months before James’s 18th birthday, tragically taking away the cherished independence that comes with adulthood and leaving him to mark the milestone occasion from his hospital bed.
But according to James’s mother, Sharon Wilson, her defiant son has remained in good spirits throughout his ordeal and he still enjoyed a celebratory pint on his birthday.
Despite the doctor’s prognosis, the family have not given up hope and they are raising money so James can undertake physiotherapy treatment abroad to try and gain some movement.
Ms Wilson told the Daily Mail: ‘Nothing hurts as much as when your child is hurting. It would mean the world to us to at least try and help him so we know we’ve tried everything possible.’
The 50-year-old pharmaceutical buyer recalled her harrowing journey down from the family’s home in Essex so she could be by her son’s side.
‘All I knew right after the accident was that he couldn’t feel his legs. I immediately got into the car and drove to Oxfordshire,’ she recalled.
‘It was the longest journey of my life. I didn’t know what I was driving to whether it was a head injury. But when I got there he didn’t have a scratch on him but obviously all the damage was internal.’
Before the accident, Ms Wilson said her son had a real passion for motocross.
She said: ‘He’s been such a good kid. When all his friends were out drinking and doing whatever else, he always said he wanted to stay healthy for motocross by eating right and taking vitamins.’
Ms Wilson added that James had been looking forward to gaining the independence that comes with adulthood only to have that snatched away from him.
The mum said: ‘[James] gets frustrated because he was just getting to the age where he has a lot more independence but yet now he’s back to asking mum to do everything for him and he hates it, but he’s in good spirits.
‘Before the accident he’d just got his first job at the local chippy and he was having driving lessons and going to college. James wanted to go off to university of get an apprenticeship to do investment banking but that’s all been put on hold.’
Although James marked his milestone 18th birthday while he was still in hospital, the family were still able to turn it into a celebration.
‘We went out of the hospital and to a nearby restaurant where James was able to enjoy his first legal pint and a few of his friends came down as well so we were able to celebrate as best we could.’
James is now back at home and is attending college two days a week, to aid his recovery the family have set up a Go Fund Me page to raise money so he can travel abroad for specialist physiotherapy.
Ms Wilson acknowledged she is not expecting a miracle but hoped the treatment might still regain some of his independence.
‘Even if he can just walk a few 100 yards or even a mile or just being able to walk into a pub or a restaurant without a wheelchair will just make life easier for him.
‘Nothing hurts as much as when your child is hurting. It would mean the world to us to at least try and help him so we know we’ve tried everything possible,’ she said.
James’s friends are also chipping in, organising a bake sale while the family made the difficult decision to sell one of his motorbikes.
So far they have raised nearly £10,000 and Sharon said she has been ‘overwhelmed’ by people’s generosity.
She said: ‘Someone gave us £1,000 anonymously and it really made us all emotional I just burst into tears when it came through.
‘People’s kindness is really outstanding. It has blown us away.’
To donate to James’s fundraiser click here.
