Twelve years after he suffered life-threatening injuries at the hands of a fellow kindergarten student, 17-year-old Mandurah soccer player Raymond Ellery is set to buck overwhelming odds by representing WA on the international stage.
At the age of five Ellery had a stroke after he was assaulted by another child in his kindergarten class. He was rushed to Peel Health Campus where it was discovered his skull had been pushed onto his brain and subsequent schoolyard assaults led to him suffering brain spiking episodes, blood clots and skull misplacement.
![Raymond Ellery was just five when he suffered a stroke after being assaulted at kindergarten.](/web/20160824020604im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/y/9/h/r/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gqy9gj.png/1471846284000.jpg)
Told by a specialist at Princess Margaret Hospital that his blood clots had the potential to fatally rupture, Ellery's ambitions in most sports had to be put on hold for a large part of his childhood and he suffered both post-traumatic stress disorder and depressive anxiety.
"It was tough growing up sometimes – other kids would tease me because I couldn't play sport and I really loved it," he said.
"But I had to just push through, and keep on getting better.
"It was kind of annoying more than it was sad in a way. I just wanted to play sport, but it was never a possibility,"
Things took a turn for the better when Ellery's mother took him to a remedial therapist, Dr Stan Bathgate, who miraculously shifted his skull plate back into position.
Dr Bathgate continued to work on Ellery, continuously mending the skull plate as he grew until the age of 16, by which time he'd found protective head gear that enabled him to start to carve out a niche in soccer - after several other sports had prevented him playing due to his medical condition.
Unable to head the ball, he developed particular skills with his chest and now the sky looks the limit as he prepares to represent WA in the Singa Cup in November.
"At a time it looked like I'd never be able to play sport, so I'm really proud of how far I've been able to come," Ellery said.
"I don't want to say there's a cockiness to it, but it's great to be able to just play sport now and focus on becoming a better athlete."