Press release -
Brynna boy raises hundreds after baby brother has stroke
Five year old, Ben Robinson, has raised an amazing £1,536 for the Stroke Association after his
baby brother, Niam, had a stroke when he was just five hours old.
Niam was born on 5th September 2013 at 7pm. Five hours later Niam started to have seizures, and doctors realised he’d had a stroke. A blood clot in his left kidney had dispersed around his body.
Ben and Niam’s mum, Jodie, explained; “Twice Niam needed thrombolytic treatment, which disperses
blood clots, and each time I was told it could go either way within the following 12 hours. He was stubborn and continued to fight until he slowly started to improve.”
For the following three weeks Niam continued to receive treatment and had to have injections
twice a day for the first six months of his life. Niam’s brother Ben wanted to understand what had happened to his new little brother and whyhe has to wear a tube in his nose.
Jodie said; “I explained, appropriately for his age, about Niam’s condition. I told him about
the Stroke Association and fundraising. Ben said he would like to help fundraise and I suggested that we could do the Step Out for Stroke in Bryn Bach Park, Tredegar.”
Ben took his fundraising role very seriously and visited friends and family in his local community to tell them what he and his mum were doing. Through Facebook Jodie had connected with other mums whose children had experienced strokes or similar conditions. A fundraising campaign, organised by only a handful of people, took off across the UK and added to Ben’s total for the Stroke Association.
Jodie, Ben and Niam took part in the Step Out for Stroke in Tredegar and despite the terrible
weather on the morning Ben completed his goal of walking the full mile.
Jodie explained; “It was a big achievement for Ben as he has Hypermobility and mild left Hemiparesis
due to a birth complication. He was thrilled to complete his target after raising so much money.”
Ben said; “I was very pleased we raised lots of money. Nobody we talked to knew that babies
could have a stroke. I made a book of photos of Niam to show my friends so I could tell them what happened.”
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A stroke is a brain attack which happens when the blood supply to the brain is cut off, caused by a clot or bleeding in the brain. There are around 152,000 strokes in the UK every year and it is the leading cause of severe adult disability. There are over 1.2 million people in the UK living with the effects of stroke.
Stroke Association is a charity. We believe in life after stroke and we’re leading a community of people to change the world for people affected by stroke. We work directly with stroke survivors and their families and carers, with health and social care professionals and with scientists and researchers. We campaign to improve stroke care and support people to make the best recovery they can. We fund research to develop new treatments and ways of preventing stroke. The Stroke Helpline (0303 303 3100) provides information and support on stroke. More information can be found at ww.stroke.org.uk
