Danny Hodgson ‘smashing down barriers’: Parents

The stoic parents of injured Perth soccer player Danny Hodgson have revealed new heartbreaking details behind their son’s hospital battle and that he recently gave them a thumbs up from his hospital bed.

Mr Hodgson was allegedly punched outside a Perth train station in the early hours of September 5. A teenager has been charged.

Last Thursday he was finally moved out of Royal Perth Hospital’s ICU ward, where he had spent 59 days, and was admitted to the trauma unit.

On Tuesday his parents Peter and Nicola – who were granted entry to WA soon after the attack – told 6PR that their son recently heard a TV news report about his ordeal from his hospital bed.

“He definitely knows there is something going on,” Nicola said.

“He actually one night caught vision of me and his dad on the TV, then looked and pointed at the TV.

“Then he stuck his thumb up.”

In an emotional interview the parents said how they found about their son’s attack whilst they were celebrating another son’s 18th birthday in the UK.

“We got the call on the Saturday night to say that something awful had happened to Danny and he was in the Royal Perth Hospital,” Ms Hodgson said.

“We knew it was serious, but we didn’t know how serious.

“So all night we travelled through the night back to where we come from in Cumbria (in the UK).

“We were hitting dead-ends, it was like you can’t get into Australia, there’s no flights going, we were calling the Australian embassy, we were calling the British Embassy.

“So we pretty much woke everybody up.

“It was just a form filling exercise (to come out to Australia).”

The parents – who were forced to hotel quarantine once they arrived in Perth – said the support from the WA community in helping them come to Australia was amazing, adding the ongoing support from the WA community had been brilliant.

They said their son had undergone four brain operations thus far but that he was a fighter.

“We’ve been told all sorts of bad news…(but) Danny keeps smashing down the barriers and pulling through time and time again,” Peter said.

“We’ve just pretty much had to drop everything…and everyone has been a great support.”

British expat musicians are joining together to support the injured Perth soccer player and his family at a fundraising concert on Friday.

The event at Badlands Bar in Northbridge will feature acts originally hailing from Mr Hodgson’s native England who hope the benefit concert can contribute a few “quid” towards funding his long road to recovery.

All proceeds from the fundraiser will directly support Mr Hodgson’s recovery.Tickets for the Best of British at Badlands Bar are $33.70.