A 23-YEAR-old cricket coach from Kidderminster is trying to raise £20,000 for life-saving surgery to avoid him being paralysed from the waist down.

Jack Beadsworth was just 18 when he collapsed while bowling his first over during his first cricket game of the season with Kidderminster's 1st Xl.

The youngster's mobility rapidly deteriorated, leaving him unable to play cricket or football, but it wasn't until months later than he found out it wasn't a sports injury after all - he was diagnosed with a spinal AVM, an abnormal tangle of blood vessels on the spinal cord.

Jack underwent a nine-hour operation on his spine to remove the AVM in September 2016, and described having a "new lease of life" as he began to regain some of his mobility.

But more bad news came in March 2019, when he was diagnosed with a second AVM.

Jack said: "Prior to my spinal surgery in September 2016, I could barely walk or stand at all.

"I remember walking round the corner from my house, no more than 100 metres, before having to stop and call my parents for a lift - a benchmark I still hold my current mobility problems against today.

"When I had my first AVM removed in a nine-hour invasive operation, I felt that I had a new lease of life. I started to recover and became stronger at walking and can turn it into a light jog for a short burst.

"The second AVM that I was diagnosed with in March 2019 has ended that recovery.

"The recurrence of the AVM has been particularly stressful on my family. My mum cried when I was re-diagnosed and it was incredibly stressful for me knowing that I had to relive the condition and medical procedures all over again."

In October 2019, surgeons told Jack his AVM was too deep in the spinal cord to operate without causing massive nerve damage.

He was told it would continue to damage his nerves, grow and eventually bleed, causing a stroke that would completely paralyse the lower half of his body.

Refusing to give up hope, Jack's family began researching alternative treatments and discovered a highly-advanced type of non-invasive surgery called CyberKnife, typically used to treat cancer, which uses radioactive lasers to shrink and kill the AVM.

Surgeons in London are confident they can permanently remove Jack's AVM and prevent him from ever becoming paralysed - but the treatment will cost him £20,000.

Jack said: "What is for certain is that without surgery, I will eventually be paralysed from the waist down.

"When I was told this news, I was in a daze for days and my family distraught.

"I have never fully come to terms with the fact that I will one day be in a wheelchair with the loss of control over all bodily functions in my lower half.

"Whilst my latest tests show that the AVM is stable for now, the stroke that paralyses me is coming.

"The longer I go without this surgery, the greater the risk."

Due to the deteriorating disability, Jack now has trouble walking and has regular tingling and sensory deficits in his leg.

He now needs to raise the £20,000 by the start of November and has set up a Go Fund Me page, which has already received £18,000 in donations in just over a week.

Jack said: "I am completely amazed and overwhelmed by the generosity shown. To have raised over £17,000 from over 400 donors in just nine days is incredible and a fantastic communal effort from everyone who donated and shared the page.

"I can't wait to have this surgery and get rid of this terrible condition for good."

His mum Sarah added: "There are no words to adequately describe how we feel.

"Young men and women he went to St John's Primary and Baxter College with, university friends, former teachers, cricketers, footballers, family, parents of friends, friends of friends who don't even know Jack have donated - every pound given with kindness and love.

"We are honoured that he is so well-liked and will repay everyone, hopefully, by always being generous of heart."

To donate, go to gofundme.com/f/spine-surgery-to-save-me-from-paralysis.