Invercargill boy facing more brain surgery after school accident

The Sacred Heart School pupil was taken to Dunedin Hospital in a critical condition. Photo / Supplied

The 10-year-old boy struck in the head by an electric fence post at his Invercargill school is grabbing as much rest as he can this weekend before he faces a possible trip to Auckland and delicate brain surgery.

Kade Phillips remains in Dunedin Hospital, nine days after an incident at Sacred Heart School.

His right side is paralysed and he faces a long road to recovery.

"With him having no feeling down his right-hand side, it's affecting not just his legs and arms but his ability to eat. We're trying to get him to eat yoghurt but he's still got the nose feeder in and it's unknown if that's going to get better or worse," said Kade's grandfather, the family spokesman.

Kade now faces more brain surgery and was spending this weekend resting after being the centre of medical attention during the week.

"Monday to Friday, they get poked and prodded. As a family we want this weekend to be a really quiet weekend to rest then on Monday all the right people can make the right decisions for him," Kade's grandfather said.

"He's still got surgery to go ahead, which is hopefully in 10 days' time and that's quite a delicate operation as I understand it.

"He's stable. We're very fortunate that he's talking and he hasn't lost any of his memory. He's able to communicate what he's feeling and if he's in pain. "He's still a sick wee boy. We've got an unknown and very tough road in front of us."

Kade's injuries were also causing difficulty when medical staff had to move him.

"It's frustrating for him as well. It's all got to be managed and handled very quickly."

Family members remain at Kade's side at all times and were now waiting to see when he would be moved to Auckland's Starship Children's Hospital.

Kade's grandfather said there had been overwhelming support from the community, including the school PTA, which had set up a Givealittle page.

So far 186 people have pledged $6200.

"We're blown away. It's jumped quite quick and I think that's because people realised that Kade is a sick boy and he's got a long way to go."

A 9-year-old boy involved in the incident has been spoken to by police.