Former Arsenal Academy player requires 24-hour care after drink spiking incident

Three years ago, Daniel Cain, a former Arsenal academy player, was hospitalized for two years following a cardiac arrest caused by his drink being spiked.

Cain has been left tetraplegic, which means he is unable to voluntarily move his upper and lower body parts, and he requires 24-hour care.

In July 2020, the former academy player suffered a cardiac arrest after his friends noticed that he appeared to be a "funny colour".

His friends administered CPR, and paramedics worked on him for 24 hours to restore his heartbeat. However, he remained in a coma for 25 days following the incident.

Speaking to the Independent, mum Tracy said, "When I found out I just went into automatic mum mode. I phoned his father who was at work and his sister came back from Essex.

"At around 3-4 in the morning they tried to prepare us that he wasn't going to wake up but I said to keep trying. I wasn't going to accept he wasn't going to come around."

Initially, Cain's friends were informed that he would remain in a vegetative state if he did survive. Over the next two and a half years, he was transferred to five different hospitals.

Last December, Cain was finally able to move back home and was given an opportunity to learn to walk again through Neurokinex, a not-for-profit organization.

According to his family, the cost of Cain's care is expected to be around £24,000 per year, and they estimate that it could take him up to three years to regain the ability to walk independently.

The family has established a GoFundMe page to cover the expenses, as the NHS will only fund six sessions of physiotherapy, after which Cain will need to rely on Neurokinex for further treatment.

Speaking about his physio, Tracey added, "He responds really well - that’s like his happy place when he’s exercising. It’s more frustrating when he isn’t able to do it."

Writing the profile for the funding page, sister Natalie said, "My lovely baby brother, my only sibling, my Daniel. At 20 years of age, he was incredibly fit and healthy. He was an avid footballer and played for Comets, Hemel Aces and Hemel Town youth FC’S. He also played in the pre-academy development centres for Barnet FC and Arsenal FC.

"By trade, he is a qualified electrical service engineer. He worked on global and domestic projects:- from Google Offices in Germany to Cross Rail at Bond Street Station, London; Daniel was thriving in the early years of his career.

"...At 23 years of age, Daniel is not giving up. He has the opportunity to regain the full use of his legs, to stand and walk once again, and to achieve total independence via an organisation called Neurokinex, in Hemel Hempstead, near his home.

"This will involve a lot of intensive and expensive rehabilitation therapy, but we are determined to help Daniel thrive once again.

"Your donation will make a world of difference to Daniel for the rest of his life and can be made through this gofundme page for any amount.

"...Even £1 will help towards Daniels' recovery. If you are unable to donate, that's fine and you can still be part of Daniels' journey by kindly sharing the link with your contacts, as this would also help immensely and mean so much to me and my little brother."