10 year-old boy writes thank you letter to Sue Ryder Centre for fixing "zombie dad"

Zak Trembles decided to write to staff at the Sue Ryder Neurological Care Centre in Fulwood after his father Stephen Allen, 53, was admitted in December following a stroke.

Stephen took a stroke in August last year, and after a period in an intensive care unit in Preston, was offered a bed at the Neurological Care Centre in Lancashire, just before Christmas where he still resides.

What happened to Stephen?

Describing the ordeal, Zak's mother Carol Trembles, 49, said: “He went to work on the Saturday with no issues at all. We went to bed that evening, and then I was woken up at 3am by a rocking sensation on the mattress.

"He was rocking back and forth sat on the bed, saying ‘I can’t get up, I can’t physically get up’. I tried to help him up, and he fell towards the wardrobe and said ‘I can’t move’".

Luckily for the family they live next door to a nurse who came round and carried out some checks when he collapsed on the floor and they called for paramedics.

However, due to Covid restrictions, Carol had to say goodbye to him in the ambulance.

The next day she received a call to say he was going to be rushed to the ICU in Victoria Hospital in Blackpool due to a swelling on his brain.

She added: "After two days he was transferred to Preston Royal Hospital to have a craniotomy where he had half his skull removed.

"That same day we were told he’d tested positive for Covid. He was then put into a coma, and onto a ventilator.

"They kept pulling him out of the coma, and he still couldn’t breathe, so they put him back again. He finally came out of the coma in October, and then was placed on a stroke ward.

"When he was in a stable condition he then caught pneumonia.

“At the beginning of November he was transferred to Blackpool ICU.

"When he was on the stroke ward, he’d lost all will to live. The whole left hand side of body was paralysed, and he just felt completely hopeless.

"Then we got a call in December to say that Sue Ryder was going to assess him, and he was admitted shortly after.

"I had never heard of them before but I thought the centre looked so beautiful I wanted to move in myself!

"After only a couple of weeks at Sue Ryder, you could tell he wanted to live again. When I left him at the hospital, I found it so hard because I knew he didn’t want to be there, but I never had that at Sue Ryder. I knew he was happy being left there."

Having forged a close bond with staff and other patients at the care centre, Stephen now calls it home and has informed Carol "he loves it here and is happy".

NHS catering manager Carol said: "The centre's staff made a special effort with Zak who was struggling to understand what was happening.

"The physiotherapists invited him to their sessions with Stephen so they could show him exactly what his daddy could do.

"It was important for Zak not to see him just lying in bed or sitting in a wheelchair, so this way he could see the progress first-hand and be positive about his dad's progress.

"Christmas was a bad time because of Covid and the staff made it better by allowing a Facetime for us all."

How did the letter idea come about?

Carol was so grateful for the expert care Stephen received from Sue Ryder that she decided to write a personal thank you letter to the team at the centre.

When Zak, who attends Norbreck Primary Academy, noticed what she was doing he came downstairs shortly after with a handwritten note of his own!

His letter reads: "To Sue Ryder. My daddy has been not well for a long time.

"When he was in hospital he was really bored and stressed. He was not getting better.

"When he got moved to Sue Ryder he is getting more rehab and he is much happier and he has made a lot of progress with his legs and arms."

And Carol says it was a complete surprise to her when Zak wrote his own thank you letter for the team at Sue Ryder. “I didn’t know Zak was writing the letter.

"He could see how much they were doing for his daddy. I just wanted them to know how we felt, and say a little more than a simple thank you.

"I wanted to show all the team how much they mean to us!

"Several months ago, what now seems like a lifetime ago our families world fell apart. To fall asleep one night happy and content to waken to a stroke is a nightmare turned reality.

"After four months of setback after setback existing in a black hole with no way out, a light appeared. The light was Sue Ryder. A place I had never heard of but was the name that gave myself, my family and most importantly Stephen hope.

"We found so much more than hope. I saw Stephen transform from a man who had given up, no longer wanting to be here to a man that had the will and determination to fight to recover.

"From seeing a look of let me go to a look of help me do this was a miracle.

"To this day, I don’t know how he was lucky enough to receive care from Sue Ryder, but I’m so happy he did, because I don’t think he would be anywhere near where he is today without them. It means everything.

"It is a weight off all our minds to know that he is being looked after and goes to things such as bingo breakfast club.

"The ultimate goal is to have him back home, but I have a lot of modifications to have carried out first.

"He is still in a wheelchair, but his speech is improving and it is a gradual process.

"We don't know how much he will improve but eight months ago he was lying like a zombie in a bed and now he is doing amazingly well.

What did the centre say when they received Zak's letter?

Chris Walbank, Service Director at Sue Ryder Neurological Care Centre Lancashire said: "Our staff have always demonstrated a high level of commitment, passion and desire to ensure that the care they provide is nothing short of excellent.

"The support Stephen received and how Zak was empowered to help his dad reach his therapy goals is a very clear depiction of what we do best, ensuring our clients thrive in their everyday lives, therapy sessions and social activities.

"Across the board, the staff respect that this centre becomes our client's home while they are here and are a real embodiment of Sue Ryder’s ethos of seeing the person and not the condition. Zak and Carol taking the time to write a letter of thanks has really given the staff a boost and helped them see how much their expert care is valued and appreciated."