A TEENAGER was left fighting for his life after having his tonsils removed.
Corey Wilkinson was rushed back to hospital after the routine operation, and now has to learn how to walk, talk and eat again.
The 19-year-old had a major bleed following the procedure, while recovering with his girlfriend.
He will now spend Christmas and New Years apart from his family as he needs to remain on the ward.
Corey had his tonsils removed in Grimsby, before going up to Leeds to stay with his partner, Courtney Backhouse.
But his shocked parents were stunned to get a phonecall saying he had been rushed into emergency surgery after dropping him off.
He was put on a ventilator and feeding tube, and when medics tried to take him off the breathing aid he went into cardiac arrest.
The family were told he might not survive as he was put on life support.
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His mum, Nicki, said: "We got a call from Courtney saying he had been rushed to hospital with a major bleed on his tonsils.
"We drove up at midnight and were informed that he'd had a traumatic operation and had to be put on a ventilator to sleep as he was having difficulty breathing.
"After that, he was put on life support for two weeks, but wasn't responding.
"At the time, we were unsure if there was any brain damage to Corey.
"We stayed in Leeds for the first week as we were told it was touch and go as to whether he'd pull through.
"Thankfully, he then started responding by squeezing his hands."
He has now recovered enough to come out of sedation and off the ventilator, but still needs help eating as he is struggling to swallow, his mum said.
It's not clear if any permanent damage has been caused yet but the teen is set to soon be moved to a rehabilitation centre.
FUNDRAISER
The family have launched an appeal to raise money to get their home ready for Corey and help his recovery.
Nicki wrote: "Corey is now making progress his speech is improving but still on a feeding tube.
"It is heartbreaking having your son cry and ask to come home knowing I can't bring him home and don't know when I can its early days but he's still with us and I could not be prouder of him and what he has overcome so far.
"Corey is going to need a lot of equipment to help him with his recovery and some adaptions will be needed at home for him to come home safely so any donations appreciated to support us fund adaptations."
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