For those that know Calvin personally, you will be aware that recently he was diagnosed with a condition called Chiari Malformation.

Chiari Malformation is a condition where the lower part of the brain pushes down into the spinal canal, this puts pressure on the brain stem and spinal cord and also obstructs the flow of the CSF (cerebrospinal fluid). Living with this condition, Calvin experienced chronic headaches that were brought on by simple things such as coughing, sneezing and laughing. This condition also meant that Calvin had to give up a lot of things in his life, including playing golf, one of his favourite hobbies.

The treatment for Calvin’s Chiari Malformation was to undergo decompression surgery, during which a small piece of bone had to be removed from the base of his skull.

Calvin was admitted into hospital on July 17th as a healthy man, a loving dad, partner, son, brother and friend to many. His surgery took place on July 18th and his recovery, while extremely painful, was going well. Unfortunately while in the close observation ward following recovery, Calvin choked on a piece of food, which resulted in said food entering his lung and making breathing extremely difficult.

Calvin was rushed to the Intensive Care Unit in the early hours of Sunday July 21st where he was intubated and put into a medically induced coma. It was later discovered that his right lung had collapsed, followed by his left lung a few days later. Drains were placed in both lungs to help re-inflate them.

On Friday July 26th Calvin received an MRI scan. The results of which showed a dangerous build up of CSF within the ventricles in his brain. Calvin required emergency life-saving surgery and was immediately rushed to theatre to have a drain placed in his brain to relieve the fluid. After several days the drain was removed. However, it was discovered during the MRI that a part of Calvin's spinal cord and brain stem had been permanently damaged, severely limiting his mobility. We were told then that he probably wont ever walk again.

Calvin underwent a tracheostomy several days later as he was still dependent on a ventilator to breathe. He has fought off many infections including 2 CFS infections in the brain, a blood infection and continuous chest infections. On the weekend of August 10th he developed sepsis, during which he also had an increase of CFS in the brain for the second time which had to once again be drained.

Calvin’s lungs have now collapsed 4 times and he recently experienced a build up of fluid in his lungs. Due to the damage to his brain stem and spinal cord he has very limited movement, currently restricted to his head and fingers. Calvin has been fighting for his life for the past few months and still requires a ventilator to breathe for him. Currently he is still a patient in the ICU at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

Rehabilitation is a long way into our future and we are unsure what our path is going to look like. But, we want the best rehab for Calvin and want to make sure he doesn’t go without anything he needs. We have created this just giving page to start our fundraising to help give Calvin the best treatment for his long journey ahead.

We will be doing a variety of things to raise as much money as possible for Calvin. Any money left over will be donated to the ARI Intensive care unit, as they have been absolutely amazing and we cannot thank them enough for all they have done, not just for Calvin, but for us as a family.

Our world has been completely turned upside down, but our fighter continues to show us strength and still manages to put a smile on our faces.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story and we appreciate all donations

❤