A COMMUNITY in Yate has rallied to help the parents of a 10-year-old boy struck down with a rare illness.

Ethan Archard is expected to remain in hospital for several months after being rushed in at Easter with a rare form of brain swelling, auto-immune encephalitis, which sees the body attack itself.

A normal healthy child, football-loving Ethan has lost the ability to talk, suffers continuous spasms and has weakness in his right arm and hand.

His parents Nicola and Steve have remained at his bedside at Bristol Children’s Hospital for over five weeks and friends, family and even complete strangers have now backed an appeal to help support them financially.

Close friend Debbie Lavercombe said people just wanted to do something to help.

“We feel completely useless because there is nothing we can say or do,” she said. “It is so very sad and seeing Ethan in hospital is heartbreaking.

“It is just one of those awful things that happens and having children the same age brings it home.

Ethan, a Year 5 pupil at Abbotswood Primary School, first started complaining of pins and needles during the school Easter holidays when he could not write in his mum’s birthday card. His family then noticed an occasional slur in his speech and took him to see his GP but Ethan, who has played football for Yate United since the age of five, was rushed to hospital and has been there ever since.

“He comes and goes,” said Mrs Lavercombe, a nurse at Southmead Hospital’s maternity unit.

“He can be very agitated at times and can get angry and frustrated at not being able to talk plus he doesn’t sleep. He has lost a lot of weight because he isn’t eating and although he can get up, he keeps collapsing.

“There is no consistency and until they can get his anti-bodies to calm down nothing is changing. But there is a good rate of success although recovery is slow and will be at least a year.”

Nicola, who works for a company which makes blinds, has been paid in full until now and will receive half pay for a month before it stops completely. She and husband Steve, who has gone back to work part-time in a local warehouse, have two other children Saffron, 14, and Olivia, 16.

“We just thought we would try and get some money to help them as they will have no second income for probably a year,” added Mrs Lavercombe, whose youngest son Sam, 9, is Ethan’s best friend.

“Lots of people have been asking what they can do, people want to do something.

“We set up a Just Giving page and reached the £1,500 target within a week so now have raised it to £2,000. It has just taken off and we have been stunned.”

Ethan’s school raised £550 at a non-uniform day and Mrs Lavercombe said she collected donations of £40 from some families and a fun day and auction at Yate United raised over £1,100 and the club donated a further £600.

A ladies pamper day is being held on June 10 (10am-5pm) at Shire Way Community Centre and donations are being accepted on justgiving.com/debbie-lavercombe