The mum of a schoolboy has told how he was left fighting for his life after complaining to his teacher he had a "tingly tongue".
Joey Tildesly-Devine suffered a bleed on the left side of the brain at school when he was aged 10 in November 2018.
Just minutes later he was "unable to talk" and could only communicate by trying to write down what was happening, after suffering a stroke.
His mum Karen Devine, 41, rushed to the school to help her son after being contacted by his headteacher, and Joey was later taken to hospital by paramedics.
Although not fully recovered after being released from hospital earlier this year, his speech has fully returned and he is now able to walk, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Karen, of St Helens, Merseyside, said: "The headteacher came to get me and said Joey had 'taken a bit of a funny turn'.
"When I heard that I certainly didn't think it would be that he had a stroke.
"He had told his teacher that he had a tingly tongue and then he yelped and after that he couldn't speak. He lost his speech.
"He tried to write down on a bit of paper to tell his teacher what was wrong but he couldn't use his right hand.
"Within five minutes he had lost the ability to control the right side of his body. He couldn't speak but he could understand everything.
"We initially called an ambulance for him but it didn't arrive and he was deteriorating quickly so I made the decision to drive him to Whiston Hospital. "
When they arrived at Whiston Hospital Karen said that doctors were worried about sepsis but a scan confirmed that her son had suffered a bleed on the brain.
It had been caused by a condition called arteriovenous malformation when blood vessels in the brain are tangled.
He was immediately transferred from Whiston to Alder Hey in an ambulance to undergo life saving surgery.
Karen said doctors told her there was a risk her son wouldn't survive the surgery to remove the clot from his brain.
She said: "To start with they were worried about sepsis but he had a scan it showed he had a bleed on the brain.
"But a scan showed he had a massive bleed on the left side of his brain.
"We were told he would need immediate live saving surgery so he was rushed to Alder Hey.
"I remember the consultant came to see us said there was a chance that Joey wouldn't survive the surgery. That was a horrible moment.
"I had to sign a consent form that acknowledged my son might die from the surgery he needed."
However, thankfully, the surgery was successful and Joey, began his long road to recovery, spending a further four months recovering at Alder Hey.
The hemorrhage affected the mobility of the right side of his body and his speech which left Joey needing speech therapy and physiotherapy.
Karen described how she and her husband spent months rotating daily visits to the hospital so that Joey was never alone.
She added: "After the surgery, he was in Alder Hey for four and a half months. I was off work for six months. My husband and I would alternate shifts with Joey so he was never there on his own.
"My husband slept at Alder Hey by his side every night that he was there. It was a really hard time for the family but our friends and family were so supportive. "
Since embarking on his road to recovery after his release from Alder Hey earlier this year he is making further progress through his physiotherapy.
His mum also paid tribute to Joey's determination during the recovery process, recalling that even when he was unable to talk he was determined to fight his way to receovery.
She added:"He couldn't walk, talk or write. Because he's right handed he couldn't write because the bleed on his brain affected everything on his right side.
"Now his speech is amazing. It's so much better than last year."
The family also paid tribute to the staff at Alder Hey for everything they did for Joey, describing the hospital's staff as "like family" to them and they made his time in hospital "amazing".
Karen said:"Alder Hey were amazing. Everyone there knew him as 'Joey the legend'. Staff there are like family. They made it amazing and they looked after the family too.
