EXCLUSIVE: A football-obsessed lad has defied all odds after suffering a severe stroke at the age of seven. His proud dad reveals the heartache of being told his son might not make it, and watching his detirmination in proving them wrong07:23, 07 Jul 2026Updated 07:29, 07 Jul 2026Proud dad Ben Clark has watched his sporty seven-year-old son play football more times than he can remember, but he'll never forget the day that all changed.‌A Manchester United fan with big dreams of following the footsteps of his favourite players, little Louie Clark was showing skills that most children couldn't at his age. And Ben knew he had a special gift. "Every second of the day he was doing something football related," the 38-year-old from Knottingley, West Yorkshire, says. "I'd had calls with football academies about him."‌On Feb 24, 2025, the happy and healthy boy was spending the day playing football with his friends when mum Lindsay, 35, got a phone call that all parents dread. "One of the mums said Louie was feeling sick and dizzy and had taken him home, and as I got him out the car, I opened the door and and he couldn't even lift his head or his arms up," Ben recalls.‌Comparing his son to a "rag doll," Ben says Louie was completely limp and was slurring his words. He quickly sat his son on the stairs and knew he was in a serious condition. Initially dialling 111, Ben decided to call 999 instead while trying to remain calm. "The ambulance was going to take up to three hours to come, so we just said we would take him to our local hospital ourselves," the dad explains.Lindsay and Ben were convinced that their son was having a stroke despite his age. But after several tests, doctors still weren't convinced and initially thought it might be sepsis. "He was showing all the stroke symptoms and he started to deteriorate and go stiff," Ben says.‌The body stiffening was a terrifying sign that the pressure on Louie's brain was getting too strong. Doctors ordered a CT scan and finally confirmed what the parents had suspected all along - the seven-year-old had suffered a severe ischaemic stroke and was in a life-threatening condition.An ischaemic stroke is the most common type and happens when a blood clot or fatty plaque blocks an artery supplying blood to the brain, cutting off oxygen and killing brain cells. "I have witnessed someone have a stroke before, and you always hear about the FAST acronym and we just knew what was happening," Ben explains."We were absolutely devastated, me and Lindsay didn't sleep at all. I have always had this skill of remaining calm but it's completely different when it's your own child.‌"When he was first taken to our local hospital and they were in limbo about what they could do for him as he was a child, I got more and more to the point of accepting that I wasn't coming home with my child. And the later the night got on, the more we thought we needed to start to think of the worst case.After being transferred to Leeds hospital in the early hours of the morning, things started to take a turn in the right direction. Louie quickly underwent a mechanical thrombectomy, an emergency invasive procedure to physically remove a large blood clot blocking a brain artery, ultimately restoring blood flow during an ischaemic stroke. Inserting a small cannular device vibrates and releases the blockage.‌But it was an incredibly rare procedure to have at such a young age. "We were very lucky that he went to one of the very few hospitals that provide it for children," the dad says.Louie then spent a week in intensive care, but complications meant Ben and Lindsay still faced the unbearable possibility that he might not make it. The youngster had a lot of swelling on his brain which led to a second operation called a craniotomy to remove some of his skull to help ease the swelling.Ben says: "It was such an invasive surgery for such a young child. The day he had it we were told that in the 24 hours after the surgery, if nothing improves, there would be nothing else they could do."‌Specialists told the heartbroken parents they couldn't predict how their son was going to wake up and whether he would even be able to walk again. But deep down, Ben knew his son was a fighter. "The doctors told us it was now down to Louie and as soon as he said that I knew he would be OK, I knew if it was down to him, he would wake up. He's a fighter and he's so determined."I remember 48 hours after that news, I was stood next to him late one night and I put my finger in his hand and I said to him 'Louie if you can hear me, I want you to squeeze my finger' and he did. Not very strong but he did it."Content cannot be displayed without consent‌Then came another breakthrough. An intensive care nurse confirmed Louie was waking up and that he could hear sounds around him and understand peoples voices. A few days later, Louie was miraculously moving his arms and legs and started to wean off the ventilator. Ben and Lindsay, who were told to expect that Louie could be paralysed, were in awe of his determination.‌"His recovery baffled everyone, they all expected it to be a much longer road, but I told them they were dealing with a very determined little boy," Ben says.Louie also needed help draining spinal fluid and had a permanent shunt put in place to stop the build up in the back of his head.But after a gruelling 85 days in hospital, working with physios, doctors and speech and language therapists, Ben and Lindsay were finally able to take him home.‌"In one of the early consultations we had, the physio asked me what we would like Louie to be able to do and I said the only thing I would like you to get Louie to do is free stand and pass me a football, but I knew it would be really hard. He couldn't walk at all when he first came home," Ben explains.The incredibly proud dad calls Louie his "superhero". He knew deep down just how detirmined his son was to be able to play football again, before he could even walk properly, and strongly believed it would only be a matter of time.‌"He's trying to get back to it, he took his first steps again and from there he's been practising and has finally kicked a ball again. Even his physio adapted their sessions," Ben reveals.Once Louie was getting stronger, a family friend held a charity football match and Louie, now eight, was the one to take the first kick of the ball on the pitch. "For about 20 seconds while I was on the pitch I forgot where I was, I just had flashbacks from all his physio sessions. Everything from day one and the hospital up until that moment flashed before my eyes. I couldn't see anything I was so emotional and my eyes were watering so much," the dad says.Ben and his wife Lindsay now want to raise awareness that a stroke can happen at any age. Childhood stroke affects several hundred children and babies each year in the UK according to Stroke Association UK and the FAST acronym (Face drooping, Arm weakness, Slurred speech, Time to call) does apply to children too.‌Louie now plays for a team called Pontyfract Pirates - an inclusive football club for adults and children with learning difficulties and disabilities. Hoping to get back to playing games soon, Ben knows his son will one day compete again. "He is blind in the bottom corner of both eyes and he is still weak on his left side but the football is keeping him determined."Still finding his feet, Ben is proud of how far his son has already come but they are still dealing with some of the after effects of the stroke. "Physically he is getting better but there is also the mental side of it. Controlling emotions and understanding his emotions. He also has a hightened sense of pain and also no perception of time either."He is just relearning everything again, it's been a year and a half and he's making good progress. I just want to raise awareness to show that strokes can happen at any age, and all parents should be aware of the signs." Ben shares Louie's recovery on their TikTok page under the name @benandlouie as well as information about strokes too.Article continues belowFor more information, you can visit the Stroke Awareness page here.