Get Krishan living life again

This campaign is to help support our dear little 8 year old Krishan Benn-Shah. Here is his story.

It was just another day… 14^th of February, 2017. It was half term and after going swimming at the local pool, Krishan began to feel unwell. When the ambulance brought Krishan to the hospital, Krishan's parents Jay and Dakota Benn-Shah were told that Krishan had suffered a massive bleed to the brain caused by an arteriovenous malformation or AVM.

A bleed to the brain from an AVM is like having a stroke and symptoms like paralysis and slurred speech are common. In Krishan’s case, the bleed occurred in the cerebellum which controls coordination and walking. Brain AVMs occur in less than 1 percent of the general population. AVMs are usually congenital, meaning someone is born with one and it could happen to anyone.

Jay and Dakota were told to prepare for the worst and that Krishan only had a 5% survival rate. The neuro-surgeons managed to stem the bleed after more than 7 hours of surgery. Krishan did manage to pull through the surgery and there is every hope that he will be able to re-learn the functions that he has lost. Although he currently cannot speak, he is adapting well to using a specialised iPad to communicate along with thumbs up and down. He now smiles and every day of therapy helps to increase the strength in his limbs so there is hope that he could learn to walk again and regain his motion.

However, the journey is not over yet. The surgery that Krishan has had was only to stop the bleed and prevent him dying. The AVM is still there and will need to be removed so there is at least another surgery on the cards for this young boy along with the recovery afterwards. Dakota has not returned to work since the injury and will continue as Krishan's carer once he is well enough to be discharged home. The Shah's live in Reading in the UK and Krishan is at the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford which is an hour away so the couple are commuting between the two locations as they attempt to care for their other children during this time as well as spend the most time as possible with Krishan.

There is still so much doctors don’t know about brain injuries. We can’t say how long it will take for Krishan to recover or what he will be like after the second surgery. We do know though from other comparable cases and doctors' preliminary estimations that he will most likely be in/out of hospital for at least another 6 months with a period of recovery at home afterwards.

This fundraising page is therefore to help this family directly with things like petrol to commute back and forth to Oxford, to help adapt the house with specialised equipment they will need for rehabilitation and accommodate for wheelchairs, etc. We have a community of people already making meals for the family to help with day to day and doing little things but we would like to help them further as they cope with the loss of income and additional costs to adapt and buy necessary equipment. It is important to know at this point that there is limited financial and therapeutic aid available for the family once they are discharged from hospital. The funds we raise will ensure that the family have access to continued therapists and advice.

Please help us by spreading the awareness of this campaign and donating any funds you can. If you would like to help in other ways, like volunteering therapeutic services to the family and any other resources, please get in touch with the fundraisers on this page.

Bless and Thank you for your generosity and compassion.