A selfless seven-year-old boy has donated £1,500 to Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity as a thank you for the incredible care he received after suffering a severe dog attack.

Inspiring youngster Henry Walton, from Penkridge, passed on the funds, which had been raised for him by teammates at his football club, after they held a charity match in Henry’s honour following the terrifying incident.

Henry’s mum, Aimee, was working on shift as a paramedic when she heard a call for a patient who had been attacked by a rottweiler, but her heart dropped to her stomach when she recognised the address of the incident, which was where Henry was playing with friends.

Aimee tried to keep calm, as she joined the attending crew and rushed to the address, siren’s blaring, but her worst fears were confirmed when she arrived at the scene and saw it was her little boy who had suffered serious injuries to his right thigh. Aimee’s colleagues made the quick decision to rush Henry to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Due to the nature of his injuries, Henry was admitted to the hospital’s Burns Centre where specialist plastic surgeons worked quickly, performing three separate surgeries to repair the tissue damage, remove infection and reconstruct his thigh. 

Henry spent a long week recovering in the hospital, but as well as the pain from his injuries, he was distraught to be missing pre-season training with his football team, Chase Colts. As soon as he was well enough to go home, Aimee took Henry to visit his team to watch them train, but it just upset him more to think that he was going to miss the entire season. That’s when the team came up with their plan to host a match in Henry’s honour and raise funds to give him a treat.

Henry was overwhelmed by his team’s kindness but rather than spend the money on a trip or something for himself, he thought back to his time at the hospital and the bond he forged with Wayne, one of the hospital’s incredible Play Workers, who helped to keep Henry in good spirits during his stay. Henry decided to donate the money to the Burns Centre instead, to help other children get through their treatment.

Aimee said: “After such a traumatic experience, Henry really struggled both physically and mentally in his recovery, but it was Wayne and the Play Team who brought him back out of his shell while he underwent his intensive treatment.

“We can’t thank everyone at Chase Colts FC enough for their kindness towards Henry – they even made sure the charity match was only played by the adult teams, so that Henry didn’t feel like he was missing out on a game. There was no doubt in Henry’s mind that the wanted to donate the money to the hospital and I couldn’t be prouder of him.”

Miranda Williams, Head of Public Fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “We’re so glad that Henry is on the road to recovery after what must have been a truly horrifying experience. We know that the work of our incredible Play Team is paramount to the recovery of our sick kids so we’re humbled by Henry’s generous and thoughtful donation which will go on to help other brave patients in our Burns Centre, just like him.”