Man who went to get tonsils removed ended up on life support for two weeks after suffering brain injury

A semi-pro footballer who suffered a severe brain injury after having his tonsils removed has won a £25,000 NHS pay-out.

Corey Wilkinson was 19 when he had the routine op on November 23, 2021 and should have been home and recovering within days. But Corey, from Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, started experiencing severe complications that threatened his life.

He was discharged from Grimsby’s Diana Princess of Wales Hospital but hours later started bleeding from his mouth and was struggling to breathe. Corey, a semi-pro footballer who was about to qualify as a personal trainer, was rushed to Leeds General Infirmary by his girlfriend the next day.

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Doctors attempted to insert an air tube down his throat but he suffered a cardiac arrest after his mouth and airways became clogged with blood. Medics eventually carried out an emergency tracheostomy but Corey’s brain had been starved of oxygen for around 15 minutes.

The next day doctors tried to remove the tube but while they were doing so Corey struggled to breathe and his brain was starved of oxygen for another four minutes. He suffered another cardiac arrest and hypoxic and ischemic brain injury as a result of the incident.

Corey was put on life support for two weeks and fitted with a feeding tube and doctors warned his parents Nicki Wilkinson, 39, and Barry Blastland, 40, he may not survive. In January 2022 he was well enough to go home but he was unable to walk, talk or swallow solid food and was on a fluid only diet.

Over the next few months, Corey, now aged 20, underwent gruelling physiotherapy and speech therapy sessions. He has now been awarded compensation after Leeds