THE heartbroken mum of a tetraplegic ex-Arsenal academy star says she is haunted by one regret that could have changed things.
Daniel Cain, 23, was a fit and healthy footballer until a night out with his friends took a devastating turn.
Daniel was a fit and healthy footballer before he suffered life-changing injuries after allegedly having his drink spiked
GofundmeThe now-23-year-old’s brain and spine were starved of oxygen and he spent 25 days in a coma[/caption]
GofundmeHis mum Tracey has now revealed her one regret[/caption]
The qualified electrician’s family claim his drink was spiked and despite medical professionals’ best efforts, he now requires 24-hour care.
The horror for Daniel’s family unfolded during the depths of Covid lockdowns, and his mum Tracey Cain has since reflected on that.
Tracey said she wasn’t able to be at her son’s bedside, and thinks should she have been able to, there could have been a different outcome.
She told The Sun Online: “Sometimes I wonder if I was able to be by his side he would have been able to come round quicker.
“His recovery peaked when I was in, with someone to be there for him in person, and I only wish that I could have been there from the beginning.
“I believe being by his side and radiating that positive energy helped him.
“It was so hard having to see my son through a screen.”
It was June 9, 2020, when Daniel’s friends frantically called for an ambulance after noticing he looked a “funny colour” and was not responding.
After working on the former Arsenal academy player for 24 minutes, paramedics finally got his heart beating again.
But tragically his brain and spinal cord had been starved of oxygen.
Doctors told the family to be prepared that even if Daniel did wake up he would be in a vegetative state.
Then after 25 days in a coma he defied all odds and “woke up”.
His cognitive function began to return, something mum Tracey describes as a “miracle”.
However, she still wishes she could have been at his side.
Tracey said: “I just knew he was in there. I knew all along, if anyone said he wouldn’t wake up I just said no.
“Where there’s life there’s hope and we kept believing.
“When I was able to see him when he came out of the coma he knew I was there, he stayed awake longer when I was there.”
Tracey thanked friends, family and strangers who sent well wishes for Daniel.
She continued: “All around the world there were people praying and sending out healing thoughts.
‘YOU’VE GOT THIS’
“His father’s family are from Barbados and they were doing prayers which helped.
“All that positive energy and focusing on good things helped me keep that faith.
“Daniel didn’t know he was supposed to wake up but he did and I knew it all along.”
Tracey said she set up a phone for Daniel that his friends and family could send messages on.
She would play the recorded voice notes to him over Skype while he was in a coma.
She said: “He’s always had good links with all his friends growing up, we were inundated with messages from people he played football with and people he grew up with.
“It was so moving and heart-warming for everyone to come together for him.
“He had a phone with him which was locked so we couldn’t see messages on there.
“I had a spare phone which I used and asked people to contact that phone to call and text so he could listen to voicemail or the nurses could read out the texts.
“We were telling him: ‘you’ve got this you can wake up’.”
‘TAKE EVERY DAY AS IT COMES’
And Tracey believes that Daniel pulled through because of this.
The mum said that her son heard his family and friends “in his dreams” while in the coma.
She said: “We had to Skype him and I believe he was hearing that and fighting through as well.
“We were talking about different things while he was not awake and when he woke up he recounted things that we talked about, it was astonishing.
“When he woke up he said he had a dream of Barbados on holiday with everyone there and that’s what we had been talking about going on holiday together, it was amazing he remembered.”
As for Daniel’s improved recovery Tracey said they were taking it slow and steady.
She said: “Now we are just trying to go a bit further every day but not rush things.
“We are going to take every day as it comes as a blessing.”
Daniel’s family are now raising money for his ongoing treatment through GoFundMe.
GofundmeDaniel now needs round-the-clock care[/caption]
GofundmeHis family is now raising money for treatment in order to give him the best chance of being able to stand and walk again[/caption] Read More