NOTHING was going to stop Abbeyfield pupil Adam Gibbs from attending his end of school prom, not even the removal of his spleen just days before the big night.

There were plenty of big smiles on Friday as Adam and his fellow Year 11 students attended the prom at Wellington Barn near Calne just days after his release from Southmead Hospital in Bristol.

Adam, 16, of Bishop Close in Pewsham, Chippenham, came off his bicycle in John Coles Park whilst cycling home from his grandparents with his older brother on June 16 when he got his wheel caught between the path and grass.

Despite only feeling winded, his father, Pete, picked him from the park and took him to Chippenham Minor Injuries Unit to check if he had cracked a rib.

With Adam struggling with severe abdominal pains at Chippenham, doctors called the Wiltshire Air Ambulance to airlift him to Southmead Hospital in Bristol due to serious internal bleeding.

The impact between Adam’s handle bars and his abdomen had ruptured his spleen, which had to be removed.

Adam’s mum, Pippa, said: “We were very very close to losing him. If it was not for the staff at Southmead and the Wiltshire Air Ambulance he may not be here and that’s just from falling off a bike.

“His dad was at home so went to get him and when he was home we decided to check him out at the hospital. He just thought it was a cracked rib.

“It was total shock. When we saw him in the intensive therapy unit it was the hardest but you’re going on adrenaline.”

Adam required three units of blood prior to the 90-minute surgery and a further six units afterwards.

But six days later Adam was back home and preparing for one last hurrah with his school friends to celebrate the end of his GCSE exams.

Mrs Gibbs added: “It felt a very long time but the staff were absolutely fantastic. We are so relieved that he’s bounced back.

“He’s still in a lot of pain but he’s going to the prom and that’s what he wants to do. He’s looking forward to the prom and the school are looking forward to seeing him.”

The family also expressed their gratitude to good samaritan Valerie Fortune who stayed with the two boys following the accident in the park until their father arrived.

Adam has delayed starting his summer job at Wetherspoons in Chippenham and is off to the City of Bath College in September where he’ll study stonemasonry.