Published on: 03/07/20
On Sunday 28 June, Haydn got back on a bicycle again for the first time, off-road.
Haydn said: "It felt amazing. I felt like ‘me’ again. Trust me, a hole in your head is a lot less fashionable than a cycle helmet."
Haydn is now registered as partially sighted and therefore can't be a vehicle user on the road. He still has ongoing difficulties with his speech but physically he has made almost a complete recovery.
Haydn and his family are now campaigning for Haydn’s Law, for cycle helmets to be mandatory for under 16s. The petition has the backing of over 3,500 people.
Haydn’s mum, Manda Hymus, said: "I want kids to be active, but it was a daily battle for me to get Haydn wearing a cycle helmet. At age 15 pretty much none of his friends and peers were wearing one. In the end I gave up, hoping, as most parents do that ‘it will be OK’. Well, it wasn’t OK. And Haydn could have died.”
She added: "So many people have been enjoying the quieter roads during lockdown, which is fantastic. However, my worry is that the kids are going to be off all summer, the roads are going to get busier and there could be several more tragic accidents like Haydn’s, if people, especially kids and teenagers, aren’t wearing cycling helmets. We’ll continue to do what we can to raise awareness and campaign for safer cycling and it’s a milestone for us to see Haydn back on his bike."
Manda recently shared her story of Haydn's accident and rehabilitation with us to raise awareness of brain injury.
To follow Haydn’s progress and to sign Haydn’s Law petition you can visit the campaign's Facebook or Twitter page.
