A YEAR ago schoolboy Ollie Kirk became one of the first people in the UK to have half of his skull replaced with a ceramic implant.

Looking at the little lad now, his parents cannot believe how far he’s come, calling his recovery “miraculous”.

He is back playing football as though nothing had happened – although he does stay clear of headers.

Yesterday, Ollie’s friends, family, teachers and neurosurgeons took part in a charity abseil at the John Radcliffe Hospital, to bring together those who have supported him and give something back to the Oxford Children’s Hospital where he underwent the pioneering surgery.

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The East Hanney boy needed the treatment after a sinus infection caused his brain to swell dramatically.

Surgeons had to saw off the left side of his skull, and then replace it with a fake tailor-made portion of skull.

Oxford Mail:

  • Ollie with a model of his ceramic skull implant

Ollie, 11, said: “I am really enjoying playing sport again. It’s great to be part of a team again, at school and for my village East Hanney and I get to wear a scrum hat like Petr Cech.”

Ollie was treated at the same unit as Chelsea goalkeeper Cech, who has a metal plate in his skull after suffering a depressed skull fracture in a match in 2006. And like the Czech star, he wears a specialised scrum cap in games.

The Moulsford Prep school boy was the first child in the UK to undergo the pioneering ceramic skull implant procedure, and had to be kept in a three-day coma to allow his body to recover.

He added: “Everyone at my school has been fantastic. They have all been very kind, but really it’s my best friends, George and Lucas, who have stuck with me.

“When I couldn’t play outside, we used to have a lot of fun having our breaks inside. Once we hid up a chimney, but we got in to a bit of trouble, because I was wearing my special protective helmet.”

The material of the implant is porous, which means it will fuse with his skull as Ollie grows.

As time goes on his skull will get stronger until it virtually returns to its normal strength, with no effect on his cognitive abilities.

Speaking about the abseil, he joked: “There must be easier ways to raise money, like making cakes or something.”

Oxford Mail:

  • The 11-year-old enjoys playing football again, outside the JR

Mum Liz Kirk, a self-employed business woman, said: “It’s been miraculous, you never say never because he’s the first child to have this, so no one can ever give you anything categoric.

“He’s had 12 months of being told you can’t do this, you can do that, but he’s never let it get him down.

“He was up and kicking a football around in the garden just two weeks after the operation, and now he’s back playing at school and for his local team.

“He avoids headers though of course – he ducks out of the way.”

‘Team Ollie’ took on the challenge to raise money for Oxford Children’s Hospital and it has raised more than £3,000 so far.

To donate to the cause, go to justgiving.com/ TeamOlliesAbseilers/

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