Carl Ramsbottom Appeal

City fan Carl is making slow improvement after having spent more than three weeks in a coma after a freak accident following City’s UEFA Cup tie against Schalke last November.
After the Blues’ 2-0 win at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Carl, 44, had been travelling back to his hotel when he got caught in a crush at Düsseldorf railway station, losing his footing he fell down a stairwell and as a result suffered severe head injuries.
Doctors put him in an induced coma to help his recovery, and Carl opened his eyes for the first time shortly before Christmas. His twin brother Andrew has spent a great deal of time in Germany and the travel and medical expenses have been growing steadily.

Carl’s cousin, Ian Ramsbottom, has been desperately trying to highlight Carl’s story in order to raise much needed funds.
He said: “Carl has been transferred to Uniklinic, a rehabilitation centre on the outskirts of Düsseldorf. He’s been having speech therapy and physiotherapy and though he is still in a wheelchair, he is getting stronger all the time. He still returns to the University Hospital for CAT scans once a week where doctors continue to assess his progress.
“The surgeon had to remove apiece of Carl’s skull to relieve pressure on the brain and he still has the piece of his skull missing, but once they are satisfied with his rate of recovery, they will replace the missing piece and then continue to monitor him for three to four weeks.
“If they are happy with everything after that, he should be allowed to travel home around 10 days after. As things stand, we are hoping Carl will be coming home sometime in mid-March”

Carl will still need medical assistance on his return and there will be medical and travel expenses still to fund. A collection was organised on the concourse inside the City of Manchester Stadium prior to the Middlesbrough game and Ian has stressed money still needs to be raised to help Carl return home.
“The City fans have been unbelievable and the club are doing what they can to help” he said. “Mark Hughes and the players have sent a DVD of get well messages and we’ve had loads of cards from supporters and it’s helping him tremendously.
“We can’t thank enough the various branches of City supporters who have raised funds for Carl. The response has been fantastic and Marcus Rehse, a Schalke supporter, has managed to raise some money in Germany, while the president of Schalke recently donated €1,000.
Ian added: “We still need to raise as much as we can, so if anyone wants to help, they can call me on 07852 826150 or via the Blue Moon website”