Dylan Beattie, 25, from Glasgow, who was knocked unconscious when going up for a header in a football game and put in a coma, now can’t recognise his own partner
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Dylan Beattie visited in hospital by his son
A 25-year-old dad who banged his head and was knocked unconscious while playing football can no longer recognise his partner.
Dylan Beattie, 25, was put in a coma following the sickening incident on March 2 as his team Glasgow North United played Hillwood and he woke up after four days on life-support.
Medics warned his partner Megan O’Donnell, 23, that memory loss or a permanent mental disability may be a possible consequence of his injuries, but she said nothing could have prepared her for the heartache she is now facing.
“He doesn’t know who I am. I have to keep reintroducing myself. He is also having difficulty speaking and doesn’t know what year it is. When he first woke up he said ‘hello’ and I asked him what year it was. He replied that it was 2027. But I haven’t heard him speak since,” she said.
Megan, who has been with Dylan for eight years and is mum to his 14-month old son Taio, said she does believe the dad can recognise his little boy.
She told the Daily Record: “Dylan’s eyes lit up when he saw Taio. He even tried to wave to him. I could tell he recognised him and all Taio did the entire time they were together was smile. He was so, so happy.”
Health staff also warned Dylan’s loved ones that he may be left unable to walk or do basic tasks for months. Megan continued: “They’ve tried to start physio with him, but it is not going too well. He’s also being scheduled for an MRI and some other tests to check on the swelling on his brain. It will be at least a couple of weeks before we really know where we stand.”
Dylan clashed with an opposition player in the game which knocked him unconscious before he suffered a further blow to his head as he crashed to the ground. The landscape gardener from Maryhill in Glasgow, was placed in the coma for four days after medics found swelling and a bleed on his brain.
Best friend and teammate Brandon Imran, 27, was playing alongside Dylan when the incident unfolded and has since launched a GoFundMe page to help his family. He said: “We have been best mates for years. We played centre back together that day.
“He doesn’t usually play that position and although he’s 6ft 1, he never usually jumps to head the ball. With ten minutes to go, we were 5-2 up and he jumped up and was knocked-out mid-air. He turned sideways in the air and came down and smacked his head off the ground.”