Distraught family tell of heartache after young son hit by motorbike

Joe Boyer, 14, of Derwent View, Mastin Moor, was involved in a collision with a motorbike on Lowgates, Staveley, last month.

The Netherthorpe School pupil was airlifted to hospital with injuries to his brain, back, neck, legs, kidneys, liver, spleen, pelvis and suffered burns all over his body.

The football enthusiast is currently in a wheelchair and is learning to talk again.

His mum Marie, 40, who has been housed at Sheffield Children’s Hospital since it happened, said: “We nearly lost him a couple of times.

“We were just thinking ‘is he going to come through or not’?

“We are not sure if he will make a full recovery.

“He is in a wheelchair at the moment and it is going to be quite a long time before he walks again.

“It has been very tiring, we have gone through a lot of ups and downs.”

Marie and her husband Neil, 58, had been on their way home when they were told of the accident on the afternoon of Saturday, April 23.

The Staveley junior football team player and Chesterfield FC supporter had been out with friends when the collision happened.

The motorcyclist involved also suffered serious injuries and is now recovering at home, Derbyshire police said.

“It was about seven or eight hours before we got to see Joe,” Marie said.

“He was in surgery for eight hours the first day and then seven hours the following day and he has had two operations.

“His friends have been quite traumatised by it and they would not speak about it at first but they have been to see him.

“They had to fix his legs and fix his pelvis because it was twisted.

“He went back into intensive care a couple of weeks ago with an infection.”

Joe, who has two brothers James, 16, and Mark, 24, and sister Megan, 27, is a keen football and rugby player.

He has been learning to talk again in hospital and will have scar management for a number of years.

Marie said: “You can have a conversation with him but he is quite slow.

“We are hoping he will get weekend release this weekend with a view to coming home soon.

“He is good at the minute, all of his burns are healing up well.

“He is getting better day-by-day.

“He loves his football and his rugby. He is into playing rather than watching. He is more of an outdoors person.”

Joe’s friends and family held a charity walk last weekend and raised about £400 to say thanks to the Air Ambulance.

“The hospital staff have been wonderful, we can’t thank them enough and the ambulance crew,” Marie said.

“We would also to say thank you to Joe’s friend Dhillon Hamlin who organised the charity walk and to everyone for their support and kind donations.

“We are also going to do a karaoke night to raise some more money.”

Joe’s grandmother, Lesley Attenborough, 58, of Sheffield Road, Stonegravels, Chesterfield, also paid tribute to the emergency services who helped her grandson.

She said: “I would just like you to thank everyone including the police and paramedics at the scene of the accident, the Air Ambulance crew, the doctors and nurses at Sheffield Children’s Hospital and all those who have sent messages of support to our family.”