Moment teenager attempts to sit up for first time in two years after stabbing ... trends now
This is the inspiring moment a teenager attempts to sit up for the first time more than two years after an unprovoked stabbing left him paralysed and 'effectively dead for 50 minutes'.
James Bascoe-Smith, then a 16-year-old schoolboy, was left in a wheelchair after he was knocked off a bicycle and repeatedly knifed by masked men in Brixton, south London, on February 23, 2021.
He had been testing a bicycle for his mother when he was targeted near his home. After being stabbed again and again, he shouted 'call my mum, call my mum' then collapsed.
Last November, a court heard James was the entirely innocent victim of a gang stabbing sparked either by a provocative online drill video or as 'tit-for-tat' revenge for a previous attack.
This is the inspiring moment James Bascoe-Smith (pictured) attempts to sit up for the first time in more than two years after an unprovoked stabbing left him paralysed and 'effectively dead for 50 minutes'
James (pictured), then aged 16, was left in a wheelchair after he was knocked off a bicycle and repeatedly knifed by masked men in Brixton, south London, on February 23, 2021
The trial culminated in Leon Rashid, 20, and Taiquane Lewis, 19, being handed life sentences with minimum terms of 14 years and 13 years respectively.
Six months on from his attackers being brought to justice, James' family, who said he was 'effectively dead for 50 minutes', have posted inspirational footage of the teenager bravely sitting up without aid.
Posting the heart-warming footage, his 'proud'' aunt said: 'Today is a day we prayed for. James attempted to sit up on his own.
'From seeing James at ground zero- D. E. A. D, watching behind a cordon, not being able to hold his hand as he slipped away, then being resuscitated at the scene. Hours of surgery by multiple surgeons repairing the injuries he sustained.
'Watching James in the ICU for the first 2 weeks not responding, having 4 more cardiac arrests whilst in ICU.'
She revealed that James had to have his chest open for nine days because doctors feared his blood pressure would become too high and cause another cardiac arrest if they closed it.
After three weeks, the family were informed by doctors that they should not expect to ever see James as he was before the
