Hello and welcome to my Just Giving page. 

When I was 13 I woke up with a terrible headache. My mum could tell something wasn't right and decided to take me to Wexham Park Hospital, Slough. They did a scan and discovered that I was having a brain haemorrhage. They organized the Air Ambulance to fly me from Slough to Oxford. a journey that would take an hour by car too just 11 minutes. Then, I was rushed into life saving surgery. Without the speed of the transfer the consequences would have been much worse.

I'll be Running 43.8 Mile | 70 km (ULTRA-Marathon) on 19th October 2022, on the 15th anniversary 

The target of £25,000 is a day's operating cost for this incredible charity

You can follow how my training and the Race day on Instagram @runrichrunn

 https://www.instagram.com/invites/contact/?i=v38rs6fw5w0o&utm_content=nm2ujky

My sister kept a diary of everything that happened whilst I was in the hospital because when my dad had a brain haemorrhage he didn't remember a thing and it was very difficult to explain to him where the last 2 months had gone. So with me, the family were prepared.

My Sister Diary
Friday 19th October 2007. (The first day of half term)
Waking up with a headache at 7.30 in the morning isn't unheard of for little Richard. Normally paracetamol would have done the trick but this morning was different; he threw it up. Mummy then decided to take him to the hospital, half trying to call his bluff and half worried. The journey was unusually quiet and Mummy could see he had deteriorated on the way. Walking into A&E a nurse immediately gave him a wheelchair and he was taken straight into a CT scan and diagnosed with a BRAIN HAEMORRHAGE.

Unbelievable! Seeing as he was a 13-year-old healthy boy and his father had had one in 2001. The Doctors took him straight to trauma where they anaesthetized, ventilated and catheterised him. He then had to go straight to surgery at the John Radcliff in Oxford. But this is Richard I'm talking about; he had to go one step further; couldn't possibly be transported in a road ambulance…

Arriving at the John Radcliff at 1 pm he was rushed straight into the life-saving surgery. The first operation was to drain the excess fluid around the brain caused by the bleed. If this is not done quickly he could have serious brain damage or even worse, hence why he took the place of a hip replacement operation; poor man.

The girls arrive at the hospital at 2.45, going via Slough to collect Lizzie from the train station. After eventually tracking Richard down, we are told he's in x-ray and we have to wait 1/2 hour to see him. We are then joined by Daddy and Charles.

At 4 pm we are met by a consultant and two surgeons who explain everything; "it's nothing like Daddy's haemorrhage" they say, "imagine a road network going into a small village. You have the motorway followed by the A-roads, B-roads then the side roads. The traffic gets slower and slower and less dense. Now imagine someone has built a by-pass from the motorway straight into the side streets...BIG CRASH!! This is exactly what has happened with Richard's blood vessels. Nothing caused it, he was born with it."

We are still not allowed to see him as he is yet to have another procedure to stop the bleeding. This is called an angioplasty and it involves a tube going up an artery from his groin all the way to his head where they will block off the 'by-pass' with glue. The procedures are usually successful but he is still at high risk because of the damage that could have already been done. The consultants are very interested in how responsive he was before he was put under sedation to predict any long-term damage.

Big James and Anneka have joined us while we wait. It seems like hours! At 5.30 we are told that one of the machines broke down - mid-surgery - so they have to transport him to another operating theatre. Nothing's ever simple! It's 10 pm before we are told we can go and see him. He's in paediatric intensive care and they tell us to prepare ourselves because he's still on a ventilator and there are a lot of tubes going in and out of him. They have already tried to wake him but he was very aggravated so they are keeping him asleep until the morning. We go in two at a time and I think it's safe to say that we are all incredibly shocked. He looks so helpless yet so peaceful.

Saturday 20th
The girls get to the hospital at 10:10 am. The nurses tell us that he's had a very good night with his stats. and they will try to wake him later. We are joined by some doctors who tell us that they have stopped the paralysis drugs and have bandaged his hands to prevent him from pulling out any tubes. They may well keep him under sedation depending on how he comes round. The Angioplasty procedure went very well and they managed to stop all the bleeding. Richard will keep his drain in until his cerebral fluid (CF) has cleared. He will either be able to regulate his own CF or he won't. If he can't he will have to have a shunt put in. This is an overflow system where a valve is opened when the pressure, caused by too much CF gets too high. The excess CF will then be drained down a tube into his stomach. The shunt is unnoticeable because it is all internal and could be permanent.

Around midday, he begins to wake and the nurses are watching his CF pressure intensely. Everything is going well so they remove the ventilator. His breathing is horrible because his throat is "clogged" up, I just want to clear it for him. He's still asleep because of the sedatives.

Joined by Daddy and Charles at 1.30 we shoot off for lunch and let them spend some time with Richard. Charles then comes to the canteen at 2 to say that Richard has woken up and wants Mummy. Naturally, she shoots off and we join them back at intensive care when we've finished.

He's reacting to coming off a lot of different drugs and doesn't know what's going on. "Where am I?" he says in a hazy voice. He bursts into tears and says "where am I?" It upsets me to see him like this, so confused. Mummy explains to him and calms him down, he then realises that I'm here. "Katherine," he says and gives me a massive hug, "I love you, I love you"

I burst into tears, "I love you too little one" He does exactly the same with Lizzie and Charles when they come in. He keeps switching from being really soppy to being utterly rude and so literal. This is because he's still high on the drugs we are told. He's talking absolute nonsense.

A Few Anekdotes...

• "Stop pulling your sheets down," I say, "no one wants to see your willy. "So why did they take off my underwear?" He replies.
  

• "At least he's not lost his marbles" Mummy jokes
  "I've lost my marbles," he says bursting into tears, "Where are they?"
  

• "There's a tube in my dick," he whispers
  "It's for your own good" I reply.
  "Will it make it bigger?" He says.
  

• "Am I allowed animals?" He says
  "No," replies the nurse.
  "What about parrots?"
  

• "Katherine you're my favourite sister, apart from Lizzie"
  

• "Will I drop some sets because I've lost brain power?"
  

• "I see you've got a little armpit hair," I said
  "Yeah, I've got a little B****ck hair too." He replies

• "Don't let me miss the rugby, have we got tickets?"

Later that evening a surgeon comes down and tells Mummy that they are confident that got all the bleed but he will have to come back in 8 weeks for a check. Caroline and Andrew arrive at 8 pm stay for a short visit and then take Lizzie and Charles back home where Lally has prepared a meal.

The rugby has begun and I said I'd stay with Richard because he is missing it, so will miss it too. We lost anyway :-(

Richard's in and out of sleep all evening which is irritating him a lot and his lines are uncomfortable so he's not a happy bunny. He eventually gets to sleep properly at 11 so Mummy and I go to a room they have said we can have. There is a section of the hospital where parents and family can stay if their loved one is critically ill.

Sunday 21st
We are up early to meet Richard before he wakes so he is not alone. The nurses say that he's had a good night's sleep and we are sent to get some breakfast. We return having missed the neurologists but they didn't have much to say. I have a really good conversation with him while Mummy is on the phone. I can see that my personality hasn't changed which is a relief. He says he feels fine just still very tired and that his right eye is blurry.

He has had a lot of his lines taken away and the plan is to move him to a ward at 11. Lally arrives at 10.45 followed by Lizzie and Charles 20 minutes later, just in time for the big move. He absolutely loved the "ride" down the corridors and in the lifts etc. into Melanie's Ward.

Melanie's Ward is a ward, especially for teenagers. It was set up by the family of Melanie who was a teenage cancer patient and found that she wasn't comfortable in either an adults or children's ward. So she raised money to set up a teenage-specific ward with special menus, facilities and equipment. E.g. A PlayStation.

Monday 22nd
The Doctors are keeping their eye on Richard's sodium and potassium levels. They've lowered his drain to increase the turn-over of fluids. They put in as much as he pushes out in order to clear his CF. He was unable to keep his food down which was a step back but not untoward. Richard was visited by Max and Big James in the evening when he was on particularly good form. 

When everyone had left except Mummy and Lizzie he had a funny turn when he had temporary paralysis in his arms and legs. The on-call neurologist was called and took a sample of his CF but by this time he was fine. 

Tuesday 23rd
CF results came back clear so the paralysis is a mystery. Richard has a bit of a temperature and it is possibly the result of an infection. For lunch, he manages to keep down some chicken nuggets and beans. In the afternoon he had a catheter removed which he's pleased about and he has his first bed bath.

Wednesday 24th
He sat up for a lot of the morning which is great and a big clot came through the drain. Richard is very popular today, he had many visitors… Linda was first to visit followed by Caroline and Andrew, Jamie, Elliot, Lee and Ella who were all impressed with how he looked. 

About midday Richard had his first poo in a commode and he had the probe in his head removed. All this excitement and he is understandably very tired but manages to stay awake for April and David when they visited in the afternoon, but all this excitement meant he had a little tantrum giving blood. Mid-afternoon we decided to take over and move beds because his T.V. isn't working plus he can now have a window view.

Dinner was a huge success as he managed to eat 3/4 of a lasagne and has been drinking well all day. In the evening he manages to get out of bed into a wheelchair and go to the proper toilet for the first time. "My snot's going to be brown because my shit's green!" He says. What a gent. Soon after he was fast asleep.

Thursday 25th
He is visited by Caroline and Andrew, Victoria and Gabby and various specialists. Lunch didn't go down well as he started to feel ill because of the bed we raised so he only managed a few chips, beans and nuggets. We were up to our necks in origami by 3 pm.

A 4.30 pm visit from the consultant reveals that he thinks Richard will have to have a shunt because there is still a lot of CF draining out. His obs. at 5 reveal that his temperature has gone up to 38degrees after being fine all day. This may be due to the beginning of infection from the main line in his groin. Because of this, they decide to move it to his hand.

Friday 26th
Richard no longer has a temperature or a headache. The Doctors are still considering a shunt but decided to let this weekend determine whether he needs one or not. After spending 20 mins getting up and sitting in a chair he starts to feel ill so as to lie back down and can't handle lunch. Reece visits in the afternoon and Richard manages a ham sandwich and some grapes.

Saturday 27th
3 slices of toast for breakfast and is sitting upright for most of the morning until his anti-sickness drugs wear off. He has a surprise visit from Mark in the afternoon and manages some tuna pasta bake for lunch.

Sunday 28th
Visited by Lally and David KB. All is well.

Monday 29th
The Doctors have raised Richard's drain to 10 because of how clear his CF is. They will raise it to 15 tomorrow and if he doesn't have any side effects, then it is unlikely he will need the shunt. He has had a good day out in the chair and had some physio and most importantly - MCDONALDS!

Tuesday 30th
They have raised Richards drain to 20 instead of 15. Around midday, Mummy came back from making a phone call to Mike only to find Richard sitting in his chair with a massive grin on his face. He had just been on a walk down the corridor and back holding only his wheely stand.

Early afternoon he gets a surprise visit from Lucas Di Grassi of Renault Driver Developments. Richard is one of 15 children to get a visit, he was dead chuffed. Charles and I arrived at 4.30 pm and he's still dead chuffed with himself. At the end of the day, he goes for another walk all around the ward before retiring to bed at 8. Very impressive day spending 8 hours sitting in his chair and going for two walks.

Wednesday 31st a.k.a. Halloween
Richard has his drip disconnected and his drain closed off in the morning. This is a test to see if he gets any pressure headaches and therefore if he is reabsorbing his CF or not. If it goes well they will remove his drip this evening or tomorrow morning and will be allowed home Friday or Saturday.

Thursday 1st
The Doctors have seen Richard in the morning and were very impressed with him so they removed his drain. He's in his chair all day, going for walks and eating well. It's so good to see him completely disconnected from all his lines and drains and walking around freely.

Friday 2nd
J, the main consultant, tells Mummy to take Richard around Oxford for some sightseeing and some food and if he's feeling ok when you get back then he can go home. So they went around Oxford, went to pizza hut and returned back to the hospital with Richard feeling absolutely fine. So good news... He's coming home. They arrive back at Camp Road at roughly 7 pm, where we've set up a fireworks "display." 

Air Ambulance Berks - Oxon - Bucks

Our involvement in the Air Ambulance Trust began with Caroline writing to thank them for being available to airlift Richard to John Radcliffe. To which they responded with an acknowledgement letter and subsequent invitations to fundraising events and the launch of B.O.B.

Richard, you were airlifted from Wexham to Oxford in the G TVAM which has now been replaced with a younger larger fitter B.O.B. (EC135) The latest model has twin engines, advanced technology for landing almost anywhere and an extra seat for a loved one to accompany the sick or injured patient.

One of the events we attended included an auction where Daddy "the sucker" ended up paying a lot of money for two "feature" pigs but had no regrets as it was for a good cause. The pigs Bob and Bobette are currently enjoying roaming freely in the newly landscaped garden.

15 years on they are now enjoying new pastures in Henley

This is a charity that provided people in need of urgent critical care 2,880 times in the past year. They are called out on average seven times per day, and it costs them £3,900 to send their helicopter on each mission.

Now for the twist... If you double the money, I'll double the distance. The goal is £25,000; if we reach £50,000, I'll run over 80 miles. How far do you want me to run?