A 15-year-old boy who suffered severe brain damage after falling with a tombstone on a seaside pier is now talking and smiling, and his family is hoping for a “full recovery.”
An incredible video shared on his social networks shows Jack Dolan shaking his head, watching video games and maintaining concentrated eye contact with his family.
Doctors thought the teenager’s brain had been destroyed in the horrific accident at Stone Pier in Margate, Kent and he was expected to spend the rest of his life in a vegetative state.
But the amazing progress of recent months has given his family hope that he will make a full recovery.
Jack has spoken several times, smiles regularly, and is slowly on the verge of being able to walk again.
A 15-year-old boy who suffered severe brain damage after a tombstone fell on a seaside pier is now talking and smiling, and his family hopes for a ‘full recovery’
His stepfather Dave Dolan, who has raised Jack since he was young, believes he will be able to walk to the pub in two years’ time, when he turns 18, to buy a pint.
It is a fundraising target of £40,000 for a new home, rehabilitation and care facilities which has been surpassed by donations from the public.
Dave, 35, from Rainham, Kent, told Mail Online: ‘Every week the goalposts move. It’s incredible.
‘We are facing a total recovery. We know there will always be limitations and he has suffered brain damage.
‘But we are hopeful and staying positive. The recovery has been incredible.
‘He is able to talk and begins to walk. He’s starting to be able to get up.
‘He will live a full life. We had no idea he would survive what happened.
Dave called Jack a “miracle” and said that “seeing him smile lights up his world.”
An incredible video shared on his social networks shows Jack Dolan shaking his head, watching video games and maintaining concentrated eye contact with his family.
Jack (pictured before his accident) went to the beach alone for the first time on Sunday June 23 and jumped off Stone Pier in Margate, Kent.
Jack’s progress is recorded on a TikTok page the family has created which has garnered thousands of views around the world.
Jack’s progress is being recorded on a tiktok page that the family has created and that has obtained thousands of visits from all over the world.
The teenager has even tried to use a phone to open WhatsApp.
A recent update accompanying a video said: ‘Jack used Eyegaze today (connects with his eyes and moved the cursor where he wants. We did some testing, a couple of games and he kept trying to open WhatsApp lol). .’
Dave added: “It’s heartwarming to see such incredible support from everyone too.” I want to thank you all.’
Jack spends weekdays at a rehabilitation center where he receives specialized care and continues to make progress.
Then he returns home on weekends to be with family and friends.
The teenager was enjoying a day out with friends on Sunday, June 23, and jumped off Stone Pier in Margate, landing head-first in the water.
Jack, a pupil at Howard School in Medway, was with four or five friends and his girlfriend that day.
His parents had never let him go to the beach without them before, as he has ADHD and was known to act before he thought.
He was knocked unconscious when he landed in the water and initially floated face down.
His friends initially thought he was joking as they could see air bubbles coming out of his mouth.
Terrifyingly, Jack sank and was underwater for around eight minutes before being rescued by a kayaker who dove in to rescue him.
Jack had performed the jump dozens of times before, most recently during a vacation in Egypt in September, where video shows him laughing and diving off the side of a jetty.
The family remains hopeful about the progress made over the past four months.
Dave added: “If this is the kind of progress you can make in a few months, imagine what it will be like in a few years.”
“We are realistic but also hopeful.”