Thank you for visiting my page and taking the time to read our story...

On 9th March 2023 our lives were turned upside down when Robin, my husband, suffered a brain injury whilst we were out working in Antigua.

He suffered major skull fractures, contusions on his brain, a broken neck and 4 major brain bleeds. He was admitted to Antigua ICU but needed surgery and without a neurosurgery department we needed to get him medically evacuated to Miami ICU. This was a big risk, but he needed a neurosurgeon and Miami offered some of the best in the world. We were told it was a 50/50 chance that he would survive the flight, but it was the best shot we had.

The flight took 4 hours 10 minutes and to this day is one of the hardest things I've ever had to endure. Holding onto Robin's feet at the foot of his bed, I hoped and I prayed that we would make it through the flight. One thing about my husband - he's a fighter.

Once in Miami we waited, we knew he would need surgery but it was a careful balance making sure his body was in the best condition before a major op. On Monday 13th March he was admitted for an emergency craniotomy and underwent 8 hours of surgery to fix metal plates to his skull and drain as much blood as possible from his brain.

Initially the outlook looked good and they thought no more surgery was required. But then we hit another bump in the road, fluid had built in the space where the blood had been drained and was posing a major threat to Robin's brain. The fluid was building and pushing his brain away from the midline, this was very serious. They had one more thing to try, increases levels of sodium in the hope that it would draw the fluid away from his brain. Amazingly it worked! And within 24 hours we could start to see Robin coming back to life.

Robin spent 14 days in ICU and a further 2.5 weeks as an outpatient in Miami. 8 weeks later we got married.

Every 90 seconds someone in the UK is admitted to hospital with an acquired brain injury. I never thought we would have to go through something like this, but I know if we'd known more about Headway when it happened it could have helped both of us navigate life after a brain injury.

I am running the London Marathon as a personal challenge to show my support to those affected by a brain injury and to raise awareness for Headway so people have a resource for help and advice in some of the most challenging of circumstances.

Any amount big or small would be greatly appreciated. 😊

Liz