Boy overcomes paralysis to walk again

28 April 2025 - The 10-year-old was treated for a rare spinal tumour at King’s College Hospital

A 10-year-old boy is able to walk again following emergency surgery and extensive physiotherapy after a rare spinal tumour caused paralysis from the chest down.

In early October 2024, Harry Goulden, who had previously been a fit an active young boy, developed neck and back pain, and became unsteady on his feet.

Harry’s mum, Dr Miriam Fine-Goulden, said, “Harry is usually very active and participates in many different sports, so it was very unlike him when he said he didn’t want to go to football practice.”

The next day, when he lost the ability to walk, Harry’s parents rushed him to the Emergency Department at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, where he underwent urgent tests.

It was there an MRI scan revealed a spinal tumour that had bled, and Harry’s parents were told to prepare themselves for the fact he may not walk again.

That night, Harry was urgently transferred by the South Thames Retrieval Service for Children (STRS) to the neurosurgical team at King’s College Hospital, one of the busiest paediatric and young adult neuro-oncology centres in the country, for time-critical surgery.

An expert team comprising neurosurgeons, neuro-anaesthetists, neuro-radiologists, neuro-physiologists and neuro-pathologists were waiting for Harry and he was taken to the operating theatre immediately.

Under the care of consultant neurosurgeon Mr Bassel Zebian, Harry underwent surgery to remove the walnut-sized tumour and clotted blood to relieve the pressure on his spinal cord.

Mr Bassel Zebian said, “Harry presented with a rare Diffuse Leptomeningeal Glioneuronal Tumour. Despite being a busy centre for paediatric neuro-oncology, we have only seen a handful of young people with this type of tumour over the last 10 years.

“The tumour was high up in Harry’s spinal cord and had bled, resulting in loss of function from the chest down. We knew we had to act quickly to give Harry the best chance of walking again.

“We’re fortunate at King’s to have all the essential clinical specialists under one roof to enable us to carry out a tumour resection like this any time of the day and night without delay.”

Harry then spent almost four weeks in King’s undergoing extensive physiotherapy to try and regain movement in his legs, before moving to a specialist rehabilitation hospital in Stanmore, north London.

Harry’s mum Miriam said, “The physiotherapists at King’s did an amazing job. They encouraged Harry to mobilise soon after his surgery to try and regain use of his legs.

“Harry took the physio sessions very seriously and worked hard – he was determined to walk again.”

Just over two months on, Harry has regained the use of his legs and is not only back at school but has returned to the football field.

Miriam added, “The responsiveness from the neurosurgical team at King’s was outstanding. I genuinely believe that if they hadn’t operated as swiftly as they did, it could have been a very different outcome for Harry.”

Mr Bassel Zebian said, “The whole neurosurgical team is delighted with the progress Harry has made in a relatively short space of time. It’s cases like this that make our work so rewarding and makes me particularly proud to be a small part of this outstanding team that puts patients at the centre of all that we do.”