Faygate teenager celebrates in song his extraordinary recovery

17 year old Zac Lammas couldn’t walk, couldn’t talk and couldn’t feed himself after suffering a brain injury in February last year.

He is now very nearly back to normal – thanks to four months specialist rehabilitation at The Children's Trust.

His mum Charlotte says the turnaround has been extraordinary.

Zac said:” The Children’s Trust asked me if I wanted to be part of the single, and I instantly said yes. They have done so much for me. It was the least thing I could to do help out. I am not a singer by any means. I just had to practise the lyrics over and over again so that I got them into my head. I am part of a chorus for it. I recorded my bit at home. I had the lyrics in front of me.”

The song, Sing A Rainbow, has been recorded by the charity’s longstanding ambassador Elaine Paige. Having supported The Children’s Trust for almost 40 years, Elaine wanted to do something to help ensure the charity could continue its vital services for children with brain injury and neurodisability.

You can donate via Elaine’s page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/elaine-paige

Zac acquired a brain injury due to an AVM. An arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is an abnormal tangle of blood vessels connecting arteries and veins, which disrupts normal blood flow and oxygen circulation.

Charlotte explains: “He was an absolutely normal 16-year-old boy in the middle of his GCSE courses and then one day he had a pain in his leg. Within an hour he was fitting on the bedroom floor. We didn’t know that he was suffering from AVM. He had a really big brain haemorrhage. The AVM ruptured and it was bleeding into his brain.

“He went to hospital and was transferred to St George’s in Tooting where they had a specialist neurosurgeon there. He was transferred by ambulance and went straight into the operation. I didn’t see him.”

The excess fluid was drained and then he had another operation to remove the AVM.

“And then he didn’t wake up. He was in a coma for five to six weeks, and they couldn’t really find a reason why. He was then transferred to the Children’s Trust, a rehabilitation place for children with neurological disability in Tadworth.

“It was incredible. He couldn’t walk. He couldn’t eat. He couldn’t get to the toilet. And they have given him all these skills back. When he got there, if he needed to be moved, he had to be hoisted. Now he can do it himself.

“He is now really near what he was, but he has still got mobility issues and quite a lot of cognitive issues. He still suffers a lot of short-term memory loss. But they were saying at the time that a lot of these things might never come back. They were even saying that he might not wake up. But he has defied everything. He has come back stronger than ever. That place is absolutely fantastic!

“It was a very very difficult time. It was the hardest thing we have ever gone through as a family. It all happened on the Monday, and on the Thursday he was supposed to be flying out to New Zealand for my brother’s wedding. It was awful.

“But it has been really, really extraordinary. He has done so well. And he is still improving.”

Charlotte sees it also a great family effort, particularly from her husband Kerry and from her parents Sara and Ken.

The single will be available on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music and Apple Music and all major download platforms.

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