Former Arsenal academy player Daniel Cain was left in hospital for two years, after suffering a cardiac arrest when he had his drink spiked nearly three years ago.
Cain has been left a tetraplegic, leaving him with an inability to move upper and lower parts of his body voluntarily, and needing 24 hour care.
The incident took place in July 2020, with the former academy player suffering a cardiac arrest, after friends noticed he was looking a 'funny colour.'
Paramedics worked on him for 24 hours, in order to get his heart working about, after his friends had given him CPR, but he was left in a coma for 25 days.
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Speaking to the Independent, mum Tracy said, "When I found out I just went into automatic mum mode. I phoned his father who was at work and his sister came back from Essex.
"At around 3-4 in the morning they tried to prepare us that he wasn't going to wake up but I said to keep trying. I wasn't going to accept he wasn't going to come around."
They were initially told that he would be in a vegetative state if he did survive, and was then in five different hospitals over the next two and a half years.
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He eventually moved back home last December, and was given a chance to learn to walk again through not-for-profit organisation Neurokinex.
The family predict that it will cost them around £24,000-a-year and could take him three years to returning to walk on his own.
They have set up a Gofundme page, with the NHS only covering the cost of six sessions, before having to use Neurokinex for the rest of his physio.
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Speaking about his physio, Tracey added, "He responds really well - that’s like his happy place when he’s exercising. It’s more frustrating when he isn’t able to do it."
Writing the profile for the funding page, sister Natalie said, "My lovely baby brother, my only sibling, my Daniel. At 20 years of age, he was incredibly fit and healthy. He was an avid footballer and played for Comets, Hemel Aces and Hemel Town youth FC’S. He also played in the pre-academy development centres for Barnet FC and Arsenal FC.
"By trade, he is a qualified electrical service engineer. He worked on global and domestic projects:- from Google Offices in Germany to Cross Rail at Bond Street Station, London; Daniel was thriving in the early years of his career.
"...At 23 years of age, Daniel is not giving up. He has the opportunity to regain the full use of his legs, to stand and walk once again, and to achieve total independence via an organisation called Neurokinex, in Hemel Hempstead, near his home.
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"This will involve a lot of intensive and expensive rehabilitation therapy, but we are determined to help Daniel thrive once again.
"Your donation will make a world of difference to Daniel for the rest of his life and can be made through this gofundme page for any amount.
"...Even £1 will help towards Daniels' recovery. If you are unable to donate, that's fine and you can still be part of Daniels' journey by kindly sharing the link with your contacts, as this would also help immensely and mean so much to me and my little brother."
If you'd like to donate to Daniel's recovery, you can visit the Gofundme page here.
Ryan Sidle