A sporty school boy who was told he may never walk again after waking up paralysed due to a rare spinal tumour miraculously took his first steps just five weeks later.
Harry Goulden experienced sudden neck pain in October 2024, but when the 10-year-old boy woke the next day, he was paralysed and had “no power in his legs at all”. An emergency dash to A&E and an MRI scan uncovered a walnut-sized tumour on the youngster’s spine which had caused a blood clot, paralysing him from the chest down.
He was swiftly transferred to King’s College Hospital, London, for an urgent operation to remove the clot and part of the tumour, to give him the best chance of recovery. His consultant neurosurgeon said that such tumours are extremely rare, having seen only a “handful” in the past decade. Against all odds, after intensive physiotherapy, Harry has astonished medical professionals by walking again, returning to the football pitch, and continuing his active lifestyle.
Harry before he became ill
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Harry in hospital
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His mum Dr Miriam Fine-Goulden said: “Nobody expected him to recover as quickly and successfully as he has done, not the surgeon, not the neurologist, not the physiotherapists – but he did. As soon as he found out it was a tumour, he decided it was something he could overcome and he would be able to walk again. He is a really sporty kid, he loves football and running around. His recovery was really remarkable and we didn’t expect this quickly that he’d essentially be back to normal.”
“He didn’t go to football practice and he couldn’t sleep because the pain was bothering him. In the morning, he still had neck pain and he couldn’t move his legs, he had no power in his legs at all… it happened very quickly.”
Miriam said she rushed Harry, from Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, to A&E at Evelina London Children’s Hospital, where she works as a paediatric intensive care consultant, and where Harry was examined by a paediatric neurologist. “They confirmed it was something seriously wrong and they ordered an urgent MRI scan,” she said.
Harry has learned to walk again
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He needed physiotherapy
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Harry was rushed by ambulance to King’s College Hospital for an emergency operation on his spine to remove a blood clot and a significant portion of a tumour. The mass was benign, and samples have been sent for further analysis to ascertain the likelihood of regrowth, according to Miriam. She said Harry woke up “very nervous” and unable to use his legs, but upon learning it was due to a tumour requiring surgery, he became optimistic about his recovery.
Miriam said: “It was a slow process – he stood up, then he was walking with a frame, then walking with crutches. It took him five-and-a-half weeks to walk independently.” Now, three months later, Harry has made a remarkable recovery, running around and even playing football, which his mother said was “remarkable”.
Harry has gone back to sport
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“I was expecting him to be in hospital for a lot longer, I didn’t think he would regain normal function. When I first heard he wouldn’t be able to walk again, I thought ‘okay fine, this is what his life is going to be like’.” Miriam added her son received “amazing” care from the surgeons and physiotherapists and she felt it was his drive and motivation that contributed to his speedy recovery. “He had such a tremendous self-belief and self-confidence and I think that really helped. He never complained, he smiled the whole way through hospital. Everyone was just so surprised by how quickly he recovered.”
Mr Bassel Zebian, Harry’s consultant neurosurgeon, said: “Harry presented with a rare Diffuse Leptomeningeal Glioneuronal Tumour. Despite being a busy centre for paediatric neuro-oncology, we have only seen a handful of young people with this type of tumour over the last 10 years.
“The tumour was high up in Harry’s spinal cord and had bled, resulting in loss of function from the chest down. We knew we had to act quickly to give Harry the best chance of walking again. The whole neurosurgical team is delighted with the progress Harry has made in a relatively short space of time.”