The Shire Shows Up For Smit

In 2016, Lachlan Smith’s life changed forever when he suffered a massive stroke at just 16 years of age. He was rushed to ICU, where swelling on his brain led to emergency brain surgery. He spent three days in a coma, and during that time, we didn’t know whether our beautiful boy would survive. When Lachlan finally woke, he was paralysed down his right side. His road to recovery was going to be a long and difficult one. He was told he would never walk stairs again and that we would have to sell our home. He had lost so much, his health, his independence, his chance to finish school, and the future he had been building through his school-based plumbing apprenticeship and his contract with the Sharks. For nearly ten years, Lachy has fought through challenges most people could never imagine. Now, we have finally found a glimmer of hope. Through Dr Charlie Teo and a treatment called TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation), we have seen incredibly positive results after just one round. We are now preparing for his second round of treatment in January. After everything Lachlan has endured, we dare to hope that this could help him reach more of his potential. He has never given up, and neither will we.