Heartbreaking pictures of boy in vegetative state after stunt went flawed
- Jack Dolan, 15, has been left in a ‘vegetative state’ after the stunt went wrong
- Stepfather Dave said: ‘We will never see that smile or hear the laugh again’
Heartbreaking photos show a schoolboy lying in a ‘vegetative state’ in hospital after flipping off a pier and landing face first on the water.
Jack Dolan, 15, has been left with ‘no quality of life’ and cannot move, speak or laugh after the tragic accident on June 23.
The teenager, who had attempted the jump from Margate pier in front of his friends and girlfriend, ‘overspun’ and landed ‘face first on the water’.
Jack spent eight minutes under the water before he was pulled out by a passing kayaker. But by that time, he had gone into cardiac arrest.
He was then airlifted to King’s College Hospital in London where MRI scans showed he had severe brain damage.
The aspiring Royal Marine had ‘so much to live for’, but is now in a ‘vegetative state’ with a life expectancy of up to two years, his heartbroken family told MailOnline.
His stepfather, Dave Dolan, said: ‘It’s been our worst nightmare. We’re heartbroken. It’s sickening. He’s alive but it’s like he’s not there. He was my best mate. We cannot explain how cruel all of this is.’
The schoolboy is surrounded by tubes and wires, with his head in a brace, and is expected to have no quality of life
Jack went to the beach for the first time by himself on Sunday, June 23, and threw himself off Stone Pier in Margate, Kent
Heartbroken step-father Dave Dolan, pictured with his head in his hands, has kept a bedside vigil since Jack, 15, was seriously injured
He had done the move dozens of times before, most recently on holiday in Egypt in September (pictured), but this time he landed head first on the water
Jack’s stepfather Dave said the jump from the Stone Pier (pictured) was three or four metres high but if Jack had landed a quarter rotation one way or the other he would probably have been fine
Dave has kept a bedside vigil for Jack, and in one heartbreaking image is pictured with his head in his hands on the bed next to the prone schoolboy, surrounded by wires and tubes, while two members of hospital staff look at monitors.
He added: ‘I’ve been by his side since the start, holding his hand.’
Jack’s family have launched a major fundraising campaign to equip a new home with the specialist equipment he needs so he can return there to die. They believe at best he has two years to live.
The accident has left him brain dead. His brain stem shows signs of activity and he can breathe for himself but the rest of his brain is severely damaged and he will not recover.
They believe the ‘kind and caring’ thing for Jack now is to let him die in peace at home.
He has vast experience of the move which ended in tragedy, and has done it dozens of times before. Most recently on holiday in Egypt in September.
Stepfather Dave said: ‘We cannot even begin to understand how this has happened. He was so fit and active. His life was movement and being out and active.
‘He wanted to be in the Royal Marines. He was not an academic kid but he was so active and loved the outdoors and improving himself.
‘Our lives have turned upside down because of this. It has shattered us. He’s like a newborn baby. He can’t move.
‘There’s a heartbeat and that is it. There’s no eye contact. He cannot speak.
‘His smile was one of his greatest assets and he does not have that now. There’s nothing. He had a bright and beaming smile but now that is not there.
‘It’s horrific. I cannot explain how cruel it is to see and deal with.
The impact of the jump was so severe it knocked him unconscious and caused his brain to be damaged so badly scans show it is beyond repair
Now his stepdad Dave Dolan and mum Lisa (pictured) are desperately fundraising to move house so they can take Jack out of hospital and care for him themselves until he dies
‘He will never get it back. We will never see that smile or hear the laugh again. It’s devastating.’
Dave, 35, raised Jack up as his own, and said he believes he misjudged the move and landed face first on the water.
He added: ‘It was something he loved doing. He had done it so many times before.’
Now £15,000 has been raised to install a new home with the appropriate equipment where he can return after being in hospital.
An online fund-raising page has been set-up which has received donations from over 600 supporters.
His mum Lisa and his two sisters, aged eight and ten, are grateful for all the help received.
Dave added: ‘It’s a great response. We’ve very grateful. It will mean a new home can be acquired and fitted to give him something.
‘At the moment he is in a hospital ward with other people. It’s torturous.’
A tragic last picture shows Jack just half an hour before it happened, smiling as he arrives at Margate Station with a friend
The family (pictured together) – including Jack’s sisters Faith, ten, and Grace, eight – are currently in council accommodation and are hoping they can be moved to a house suitable for Jack as soon as possible
Dave said any money left over from the fundraising would go towards other youngsters in similar conditions.
He said it was difficult to put a life expectancy on how long Jack would survive in his current state.
He added: ‘It’s no life for him. It’s just horrible to see.
‘We think two years or so. In that time we will make all the adjustments possible to make things as comfortable.
‘I want to look after Jack and obviously the family as well.
‘We’ve all been through hell.’
The construction manager added: ‘He had so much to live for. He had a bright and amazing future.’
It was the first time Jack had gone to the beach without his mum and dad as they were protective of him as he had ADHD and was liable to act without thinking.
Jack, a pupil at the Howard School in Medway, was with four or five friends and his girlfriend on the day.
The teen most likely didn’t realise how high the pier was, was knocked unconscious and then drowned, although he wasn’t in the water long before being pulled out.
A tragic last picture shows Jack just half an hour before it happened, smiling as he arrives at Margate Station with a friend.
Video footage from his holiday in Egypt in September shows him laughing and doing the same move off the side of a jetty.
Dave, who lives in Rainham, Kent, said he was proud of Jack’s friends for their actions following the horrifying accident.
One rang 999 while his girlfriend immediately contacted Jack’s mum, who rushed to the popular beach resort.
The teen was treated by paramedics before being taken to King’s College Hospital by air ambulance, but MRI scans show his brain is beyond repair.When doctors withdrew his life support, amazingly the youngster breathed for himself, but that is about as much as his body can do.
Doctors are unsure whether he will live for weeks or even years but he will need round-the-clock care, something the Dolans cannot provide for him in their current flat.
The family – including Jack’s sisters Faith, ten, and Grace, eight – are currently in council accommodation and are hoping they can be moved to a house suitable for Jack as soon as possible.
If they can find a new home they will need to complete renovations quickly to make it able to cope with Jack and the mass of equipment he will need.
Sam Cass, who organised the crowdfunder for Jack, described him as ‘the biggest joker, with a heart of gold.’
He added: ‘He loves to show off in front of girls and won’t leave the house without doing his hair.
‘He loves his family, will do anything for his sisters and this fundraiser is to take a little bit of the burden away from them.
‘Many people love Jack and I’m sure they all wish the family wasn’t going through this right now.’
