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Imagine seeing your healthy, athletic son struck down in his prime and fighting for his life in a coma?

Imagine seeing him wake up but appear a shadow of himself, knowing he wasn't the same lad he used to be and unable to even look you in the eye?

Then imagine how proud you would feel to see him gradually recover, rebuild his life, go back to work, give you a granddaughter and then smash one of the world's toughest Iron Men challenges.

There can't be many prouder dads on Merseyside (or beyond) than Ged Thompson from West Derby who has paid tribute to his eldest son James in a moving blog post.

James was a promising 16-year-old cyclist who had already been scouted by the Olympic talent squad when a near-fatal racing accident left him in a coma with a massive head trauma and a future in tatters.

James regained consciousness weeks later but, as Ged describes, his suffering was still far from over:

"He recognised me but looked away when I made eye contact with him, as though he was embarrassed of the way he was in front of me. I got that totally — he was a young man, fit and strong several weeks ago and now he was almost paralysed, not only unable to do the simplest things for himself but with the added frustration of not being able to ask for anything either.

"The day he couldn’t hold my gaze I felt my heart break for him and to make it worse, there was nothing I could say or do to help him. It was one of the saddest moments of my life."

Ged says he knew his son needed a small victory, any victory, or his spirit may break and opportunity knocked when he sensed James, still at this stage only really communicating via grunts, wanted to disconnect his tubes and go to the bathroom on his own.

The devoted dad knew he'd get a major ear bashing for breaking hospital rules but decided it was a risk worth taking.

"When he got back to the bed he was exhausted but smiling like I hadn’t seen him smile in a very, very long time. He’d taken a very small part of his everyday life back, but not just that, a little bit of his independence, pride and hope had been restored."

And it proved to be the start of James's road to recovery.

"Since then James has conquered more than getting to the toilet. He’s psychologically and physically rehabbed, found his way back to the gym, back to the swimming pool, back on this bike, back to full time study, got a part time job after school, and ran a half marathon, a full marathon and a triathlon.

"He’s also somewhere along the way managed to earn me the title of Grandad (my recovery is still ongoing from that one and may take longer than his) but he’s become an amazing Dad to little Anna."

James, 19 now, has raised almost £2,500 so far for the Walton Centre, who helped him recover, by completing the Tenby Iron Man challenge - a gruelling 2.4 mile open water sea swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2 mile run, designed by US Navy Seals and regarded by many athletes as the ultimate physical challenge.

You can support James's fundraising by donating here and you can read his dad Ged's full blog post here .