A sporty teenager who spent his days surfing, playing basketball and training in jujitsu is “lucky he’s alive” after a frightening trampoline accident reportedly triggered a stroke and 19 mini strokes.

Ruben Shears was just 13 when his parents, Andy and Chantal, found him collapsed on the bathroom floor of their home on June 15, 2025.

The terrifying scene unfolded after the British teen began shaking, slurring his speech and showing classic warning signs of a stroke. The left side of his face was drooping, and he could not move the left side of his body.

His stunned parents quickly called for help, and Ruben was rushed by ambulance to Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, England.

Doctors soon discovered the horrifying cause: Ruben had suffered a stroke after a tear in his carotid artery led to a dangerous blood clot. The carotid arteries help carry blood to the brain, making the injury potentially deadly.

Even more shocking, doctors believe the tear was likely caused by an impact.

That is when Ruben remembered a fall that had happened 11 days earlier, on June 4. He had been on a trampoline when he fell and hurt his neck.

At the time, it did not appear to be the kind of injury that would nearly cost him his life.

His father, Andy, a carpenter, said the family was left devastated by how quickly everything changed.

“We’re so lucky he’s alive,” Andy said. “It was horrendous, and such a shock. We were an absolute wreck. We nearly lost him.”

He described the ordeal as every parent’s nightmare.

“It was like being brought to the edge of an abyss,” he said. “You don’t know what’s going to be on the other side. We were overwhelmed with fear.”

For Andy and Chantal, the hardest part was watching their son fight for his life while being unable to do anything but wait.

“As parents we always want to fix things, but in this situation you are powerless,” Andy said. “All you can do is sit and hope and hold his hand.”

Ruben, now 14, had always been an active kid. Before the medical emergency, he spent about eight hours a week doing sports, including surfing, jujitsu and basketball.

Doctors said it was also possible the artery injury could have been linked to one of his other physical activities, but the trampoline fall became a key focus because Ruben had injured his neck during the accident.

After Ruben suffered nine mini strokes in just two hours, he was transferred to Southmead Hospital in Bristol for specialist care.

Mini strokes, also known as transient ischemic attacks, happen when blood flow to part of the brain is briefly blocked. While symptoms may pass, they can be a major warning sign of a serious stroke risk.

But Ruben’s nightmare was not over.

Two days later, he suffered another 10 mini strokes.

Surgeons then performed a delicate four-and-a-half-hour operation to remove the clot. During the procedure, doctors inserted a camera and tiny surgical tools through Ruben’s femoral artery and guided them up toward his neck.

They removed the clot and placed a stent to strengthen the damaged blood vessel.

The main clot measured 2.5 centimeters long.

Doctors later told the family that Ruben’s survival may have come down to what Andy described as a “miracle.” A small blood vessel in Ruben’s brain was helping feed the right side from the left, keeping him alive.

“It’s absolutely amazing that he survived it,” Andy said.

After surgery, Ruben still could not move his left side, leaving his family terrified about what his recovery might look like.

Then came the moment his father will never forget.

Two days after the operation, Andy was sleeping beside his son when he woke up to feel Ruben squeezing his hand with his left hand.

“It was such an emotional moment,” he said.

Ruben had to lie flat for 10 days before beginning a long rehabilitation process. He spent five weeks recovering at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children before he was finally discharged.

The teen is now back home and has regained full movement, though his speech is still slower than before and he gets tired more easily.

Still, his family is overwhelmed with gratitude.

“We honestly can’t thank the medical teams enough,” Andy said. “I watch him playing with his brothers and feel so lucky.”

The ordeal has also left the family with a renewed appreciation for Britain’s National Health Service.

“This has really woken me up to how lucky we are to have the NHS,” Andy said.

For Ruben’s parents, the frightening episode is a reminder that even an ordinary fall can sometimes have life-changing consequences.

What seemed like a trampoline mishap turned into a medical emergency that nearly took their son’s life.

Now, after a stroke, 19 mini strokes and a major operation, Ruben’s family is simply grateful he is still here.