Headway

Headway is a charity that works to improve life after brain injury. My husband John, at the age of 47, had a sudden and unexpected brain haemorrhage which was caused by a ruptured aneurysm in October 2009.

He is now making a steady recovery; he is one of the lucky ones. There are guys that were in the hospital at the same time as him that are still there and will be for some time. But the challenges these people meet when they leave hospital are many and varied. There is, of course, outpatient rehabilitation available, but this tends to slow to a trickle. A couple of one hour Physiotherapy appointments a month, an occasional meeting with an Occupational Therapist or a Psychologist. It's just not enough assistance to help people re-engage with the world as they once knew it.

The impetus to raise money for Action for Brain Injury week, 17th - 23rd May 2010, came not from John's condition, but from the heart breaking sight of those people lying in the Critical Care beds next to him. Young men who had been knocked off their bicycles, Mum's who had been knocked down by a car as they crossed the road, teenagers who had a sudden bleed in the head for no apparent reason, a frail pensioner who had fallen and hit her skull. This can happen to any of us, to one of your friends, to your parents, your children, your spouse. Whilst the NHS will do all they can, it's the after care at home and in the community that really benefits from the support that Headway can give.

An email arrived today, a mailout from Headway announcing the date of their fund raising week. It is so easy to ignore these mail shots and it's not as if I haven't got enough on my plate at the moment, but with a little effort, a bit of charm and persuasion, I hope to be able to raise funds in order to help in some small way. I have given up work to help support and care for my husband, but I want to use some of my spare time to do something positive for other people in the same situation, particularly those who might not have the fantastic support that I have from friends and family.

It would be all too easy to sit around all day long eating chocolate and listening to old records (which is what I really, really want to do !)

I'll be updating the blog as soon as I have put all the ideas that are running around my head in order, and hope that anyone that can help me will get in touch.

Headway website http://www.headway.org.uk/home.aspx