Banbury girl urges parents to make children to wear a helmet after fracturing her skull in scooter accident

Annabella Smith, supported by her mum Toni Phipps, put out the appeal today (Monday) on the girl’s first day back at school after a frightening episode which began on the pavement outside her home.

Ms Phipps, of Bretch Hill, Banbury said it happened close to home when Annabelle had taken her push-along scooter out to ride. What appeared to be a simple fall ended up in a blue-light dash to Oxford where the schoolgirl underwent emergency surgery for a fractured skull.

"It happened on Friday, August 19 – there were loads of kids out on the street and adults too. We’d only been out five minutes. I had just turned my back to talk to another neighbour and people shouted that Annabella had fallen over,” she said.

“She had fallen and hit her head on the concrete. I saw her lying there. As I started walking towards her she shot up and started screaming about her head. I checked in her hair and she hadn't cut her head.

"We went to a neighbour who I knew did First Aid but Annabella’s legs were going funny so the lady's partner carried her in to their house and laid her on the sofa.

"She went floppy and wasn't quite with it. She was jerking a bit and her eyes were flickering. We called the ambulance - it felt like forever before it came and I was panicking.”

Paramedics thought Annabella may be concussed and because she had suffered a knock to the head, they took her with Ms Phipps to the Horton’s A&E Department.“Annabella couldn’t remember what had happened. She seemed alert and awake and I thought she was going to be fine. They did a CT scan to ensure it wasn’t anything serious but the scan showed her skull was fractured and there was a small bleed on the brain,” said Ms Phipps.A transfer ambulance was called immediately and mother and daughter were raced on blue lights to the JR, Oxford.

"By now Annabella was sleepy and we were taken to the ward where the doctors and staff were amazing. They wanted to do another CT scan to see if surgery was necessary. They said they needed to operate because the blood clot was getting bigger. I was terrified of walking out of the hospital without her,” said Ms Phipps.

Surgeons operated without delay in a three-hour procedure which has left the child with a major incision scar on her scalp. Annabella – with her mother by her side – then stayed in hospital until the following Wednesday while she recovered.

“Once she was back on the ward I still worried about her. She's still not quite herself and I think she's been affected by shock. So it's stayed a scary time,” said Ms Phipps.

Meanwhile Annabella’s brother, Ellis, 14, was looked after by her partner at home. Throughout the ordeal Ms Phipps has received enormous support from her sister, Lucy Phipps, mother Libby Blackburn and friends Hayley Bennett and Kaara Asara.

After a risk assessment and discussion about a care plan, Annabella is today (Monday) back at school – St Joseph’s in Edmunds Road. She will be checked by her surgons in December but must miss out on gymnastics and energetic games for six months.

“Bella really wants parents to encourage their children to wear a helmet when they're riding their scooters. People don't seem to have realised how badly injured they could be,” said Ms Phipps.

Annabella’s advice is: "Don't go through what I've had to go through - wear a helmet."