I’m Conor, I’m 19 years old, and I'm going to be skydiving for SameYou. I have chosen to call the fundraiser ‘The Dragon Challenge’ (after Emilia Clarke’s (Co-Founder of SameYou) role in Game of Thrones), and I'm hoping to raise £1000 to support brain injury recovery now and in the future, in honour of everyone who has suffered and is suffering from life changing brain injuries.

Fundraising for SameYou is important to me because the aftermath of brain injuries is never thought about or considered, meaning the majority of people have minimal understanding of what effects brain injuries can have on people. In addition to this, brain injury support services are underfunded due to the lack of knowledge that people have about their existence, and I hope that by doing this skydive it can raise more awareness.

For example, Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) is caused by injury to the brain after birth. This includes strokes, tumours, concussions, and accidents. I have never been through the experience of suffering with a brain injury, but the fact that 1 in 3 people will have an Acquired Brain Injury at some point in their lives means I could one day be affected, and anyone reading this could too. This is hardly ever talked about, and survivors often face stigma which they have to deal with on top of an already traumatic situation.

SameYou want to change this. They are working to break the silence around brain injury and help give people the best possible chance of recovery after leaving hospital. One way that SameYou have done this is by joining with University College London to form N-ROL, which allows patients to access recovery services virtually. This has been extremely beneficial during the COVID-19 pandemic and has only been possible due to donations and fundraising campaigns such as this one. 

Any donation would help and would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for supporting me. I couldn't do it without kindness of friends and family like you.