An ‘absolute miracle’ teenager who was told he would be wheelchair-bound after a crash has defied the odds to return to his passion for boxing.
CharlieBoy Booth, 15, saw his life turned upside down after a serious accident on June 30 2023 in Gainsborough — and has had to once again learn how to eat and drink since after suffering a brain injury.
He went out on his two-wheeler motorbike and had what was described as an ‘unfortunate crash into a lamp post’ — an incident that led to his terrified mum being warned several times that he may die as he was taken off for urgent treatment.
CharlieBoy Booth and his mother Tammy Smith. Photo provided by Tammy Smith
The teenager first started boxing at Scunthorpe Gym at the age of seven, and was only three years old when he first loved a pair of boxing gloves. He had been training with Newark Amateur Boxing Club for about a year before the incident.
CharlieBoy, who used to live in Tolney Lane, Newark, before moving to Gainsborough just before the accident, was due to fight in a quarter-final at Hull Box Cup on August 1, but instead he was at the beginning of a six month stay in hospital.
“This one day, boys will be boys, and we weren’t at home at the time, he took his bike out of the shed without me knowing and took off on it on the street, and he just lost control of it, and gave himself a very bad brain injury,” said Tammy Smith, CharlieBoy’s mother.
Dean Sugden and Charlie Booth. Photo provided by Dean SugdenCharlieBoy Booth at the hospital following his motorbike accident. Photo provided by Tammy Smith
After the crash, he was taken by air ambulance to Leeds. However, just before the helicopter took off, he had to have an operation on the side of the road, as his lungs were collapsing.
The teenager’s devastated parents were told that there was a 90% chance he would not recover and that he would never walk, talk, or feed himself again and that he would be ‘almost definitely’ wheelchair bound.
The mother added: “They told me about four times that I was going to lose him.
“They kept coming out to me and telling me I’m going to lose him any minute by the hour.
“It’s been two years since the accident, and I am still upset.”
After two weeks in the intensive care unit, he was transferred to Sheffield Children’s Hospital for rehab, where he had to learn to eat and drink again.
Tammy added: “When I look at how we used to be, in photos and videos, it is upsetting how it has left him to this day.
“We never thought it was going to happen to us, especially to CharlieBoy, but you never know what is around the corner.
“And yes, it is upsetting, but it is also a miracle from how he is today; he is walking, his speech is just coming back, and he’s nearly at full recovery.
“I have got to think that this is like a new CharlieBoy to me, I can’t keep thinking how he used to be before his accident, I have got to think of how he is today and deal with it.”
CharlieBoy Booth at the hospital following his motorbike accident. Photo provided by Tammy SmithCharlieBoy Booth. Photo provided by Tammy SmithCharlieBoy Booth and his sisters and younger brother. Photo provided by Tammy Smith
Following the accident, Newark Amateur Boxing Club head coach Dean Sugden visited CharlieBoy at Sheffield Children’s Hospital at a time when he was not smiling or speaking and doctors could not say if he would be paralysed.
Dean said: “He gave me the smallest of cheeky smiles just through the corner of his mouth.
“And when I moved round the other side of his bed, he turned his head.
“I knew at this moment I had to be a regular visitor to help him in his recovery.
“He is an absolute miracle, and now not only is he walking and talking and eating normally.
“He is now back in boxing training despite being left with sight in just one eye.
“It has been a long journey, initially with just hope that he may return to boxing training, something he was so passionate about and also such a good prospect on the verge of national success.”
CharlieBoy Booth boxing when he was younger. Photo provided by Tammy Smith
Dean visited CharlieBoy regularly at the hospital during his recovery and physiotherapy treatment, and recognised how important his boxing training and relationship with his coach were.
It all started with CharlieBoy lying in his bed, throwing punches with just one arm, and then he sat up in his bed. Then, it moved to wheelchair training and eventually, CharlieBoy stood up and managed to hit the boxing pads.
The club’s head coach added: “To say he is hitting the pads with promise is an understatement.
“His brain and body are re-learning all the moves and patterns he had practised before, and now he is re-learning some great combinations.
“His face would literally light up every time I visited, and that is something I will never forget.”
After being discharged back home, Dean and physios would meet with him weekly to do a session. Now, two years after the accident, CharlieBoy comes over to Newark once a week to do a one-to-one session with Dean.
CharlieBoy is progressing day by day, and despite being left blind in one eye, he walks, eats and drinks by himself and has limited speech.
Tammy said: “I was thinking he would be in a wheelchair all his life and not be able to do anything for himself, but it’s a miracle.”
Inspired by Charlie’s miracle, last year Dean decided to pay tribute to the teenager by creating the Charlie Booth Belt, which is awarded to the greatest boxer of the season during the club’s annual awards ceremony.
Dean added: “Charlie is a great role model for anyone, despite what life throws at you.
“Stay positive and follow your dreams, and I hope one day Charlie can pass on his boxing knowledge and experience to others.
“If Charlie or his parents or I had listened to the medical professionals, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
“We have arrived at this place because we never gave up hope and supported each other in this journey.
”Charlie and his fighting spirit are a constant reminder of how delicate life is, but also how we should never give up and keep on fighting.”
The fighter’s mother added: “It is wonderful for what Dean has done for him.
“The belt, with his name being on it, is a reminder to the gym that he used to be there and a fighter.”