Dad kisses newborn son three months after car crash left him in a coma
When Queensland mother Laura Smoothy gave birth to her first child, Hudson, three months ago, she and her partner, Kenneth Allan, could not have been more excited.
“Ken was so happy and so was I. He was so proud of his little boy,” Ms Smoothy told Yahoo7 News.
“He had tears when he found out I was pregnant. I was so excited he was the most perfect thing we had both seen.”
But the euphoria from their son’s birth was short lived when Mr Allan, 30, was placed in a medically-induced coma after he was struck by a car outside his Lockyer Valley home two weeks later on Anzac Day.
“I thought he was dead. I just remember thinking, “Is this for real?’ I thought it was a prank or something I was shocked,” she recalled.
Mr Allan was rushed to Princess Alexandra Hospital with serious injuries including two broken legs and a severe head injury. Doctors were left with no choice to place him in a medically-induced coma.
Ms Smoothy, 27, and their families were left with an anxious wait to see if he would ever wake up.
But after a nervous three months, Mr Allan eventually gained consciousness last week to the relief of his loved ones.
“I know that he’s not going to die so there is a bit of hope. It is a huge relief,” Ms Smoothy said.
While Mr Allan, a labourer by trade, is out of his coma, his progress is slow and he is still unable to speak.
“He will give kisses and open his eyes but doesn’t seem to focus properly yet,” Mr Smoothy said.
Mr Allan is now undergoing rehab in Brisbane and faces a lengthy road to recovery with no one sure if he will fully recover from his brain trauma.
And while the news of his progress is promising, the young mother has had to face the reality of no income from her partner while footing medical bills and day-to-day expenses.
“I’m just trying to keep my head above water with paying bills and groceries and supplying for our son,” she revealed.
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“It’s so hard. I feel really lonely and my family doesn’t live here either.”
She revealed the accident has been especially hard on Mr Allan’s family, especially his seven-year-old daughter from another relationship.
Ms Smoothy has since created a GoFundMe to help cover her spiralling expenses, having raised $3,660 so far.
“All I want is for him to be with me,” she pleaded.
