Bruce Harvey
Carson Harvey with his mother Darena in London. Carson’s father, Bruce, has said the operation to fix his son’s brain bleed was successful, but the family will have to wait four years to know for certain.
London is pretty cold in the winter, Bruce Harvey says. It’s currently snowing, and he, his wife Darena and their son, Carson, are holed up inside the Kentish Town flat they are staying at.
The family are looking forward to returning to Palmerston North next week, he said, and to a Kiwi summer.
They’ve been in London for the past four months as Carson underwent two Gamma Knife radiosurgery procedures. At age 16 he was found to have a deep brain bleed in June last year after a strenuous gym session left him screaming in agony.
Carson was diagnosed with an arteriovenous malformation which he unknowingly had since birth.
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Carson with the cradle that was bolted to his head during his two Gamma Knife radiosurgeries.
The technology needed to address the bleed did not exist in New Zealand, forcing the family to fundraise almost $150,000 to pay for the surgeries and flights to Britain.
The radiosurgery required a cradle to be bolted to Carson’s head and then attached to the bed. He then had to stay still for three hours while the surgery took place, although he was allowed to listen to music.
Bruce said his son was now resting. He always felt “a bit tired” after the surgery, and was taking a strong anti-seizure medication which made him feel drowsy.
“He’s doing very well.”
Carson will need monitoring for the next four years meaning travelling to Wellington for checkups and MRIs
The family was taken aback by the news, Bruce said.
“We really believed coming here … that was going to be the end of it. Now it’s a waiting game for up to four years to see if it’s been successful or not.”
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Carson is looking forward to coming home and catching up with friends.
Despite the news, the family remained hopeful, Bruce said, with the surgery having a high sucess rate.
Bruce said Carson was looking forward to coming home, catching up with friends, and going back to work but he wouldn’t be able to do anything too stressful for the time being.
Bruce thanked everyone for their support, saying the family had been blown away by the response from their community and the wider country.
“Most people don’t even know [Carson]. That’s just incredible.”
