* Thank you so much for all your donations! Want to share a quick update - I've rolled my marathon place to 2025 due to an injury which meant I couldn't take part in 2024. Fingers crossed for next year!

I'm running the London Marathon for Headway UK - the brain injury association - because in January 2023 my closest and most incredible friend, Rachel, had a life threatening bleed on the brain. 

Rachel, like so many others has had her life turned upside down by a stroke, and charities such as Headway help survivors rebuild their lives and offer support to families and carers.

Read on to hear Rachel's story...

As a really active, social, and hardworking 27 yr-old with no prior health concerns, Rachel's stroke was completely unexpected, and at first, she thought she was suffering from a migraine.

Rach was driving her car at the time but had to pull over as she felt so unwell. After flagging down a passing car and being taken to hospital, the doctors realised she was having a stroke, and she was put into coma to undergo 5 hours of brain surgery. At this point it seemed probable that Rachel would not survive. 

But amazingly, and thanks to the brain surgeons at Salford hospital, the bleeding stopped and Rach was able to come out of the coma and start her recovery a few days later. 

Rachel has made miraculous progress, her mobility came back very quickly having lost it in the right side of her body. However, she is still managing the lasting effects of the stroke, including a language and speech disorder called aphasia. Rach has also had to relearn how to read, write and speak, and has struggled with her sight. 

Rach is rebuilding her life and regaining her independence, and as the kindest and most selfless person I know, she's also taking the time to raise awareness about strokes by speaking with local newspapers and working with charities.

Having seen the lasting impact that a stroke can have, not only on the survivor, but on their family and friends, the work Headway does is incredibly valuable and positively impacts thousands of people around the UK. 

I'd be really appreciative of any donations, large or small. Thanks so much for reading!!

Rachel's work with Manchester Evening News: https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/my-headache-bad-pull-over-28012557