Olympic gold medalist Alex Danson: Life after a brain injury
- 29.05.2019
- JessicaMG
- Personal-injury, Personal-injury
Alex was on holiday in Kenya with her now fiancé, when she threw her head back whilst laughing at a joke and in the process, hit her head against a concrete wall.
Despite there being seemingly no serious trauma at the time, Alex felt that something was not right. That night she woke up every hour but says that as an athlete she was used to telling herself she was ‘fine’. So much so that her and her fiancé went for a run the following day.
On her way back to the UK however, Alex began to feel extremely unwell and started to suffer with severe headaches, along with light and noise sensitivity upon her return.
Six weeks later, Alex had a day out with her England teammates, having captained the national team at the World Cup shortly before her holiday to Kenya. The activity for the day was pottery painting, and Alex had convinced her doctor she was fine to attend. However, during the class she lost the ability to speak. Once again, she carried on as though everything was fine as she says she did not wish to “cause a scene”.
Following the session, she felt particularly unwell and took herself to hospital, but she left some time later believing that she was ‘better’. During the car ride home from hospital with her father, Alex – who is still recovering from her brain injury - says is when the hardest part of her experience began. She tells BBC Sport:
"The realisation that head injuries can take time. You have to be aware of that.
"The next few months were really challenging. I was in bed 24 hours a day. I could hardly walk to the bathroom. I couldn't bear light, sound, touch, anything. It was almost like my sensory dials had been whacked up. Even holding a conversation, I'd have to talk very slowly.
"I've improved hugely and headaches are my predominant problem. Light is still quite bright and noise can make me feel unwell."
Alex adds that she is getting better, but could not have made it so far on her journey to recovery without her family and her fiancé, Alex:
"If you have a head injury there is one person that physically goes through it, but anyone you speak to who's had a head injury would say they're not the only person whose life it affects," she says.
"Their lives overnight were different. When I was still unwell, Alex proposed. He just said, in sickness and in health, he wasn't going anywhere. Now I see the magnitude of what he did and the timing in which he did it. It was back in December. We told friends and family who visited us regularly.
"We said then we'd get married in September. We were still saying every week that I'd be better next week. September's coming round and we're not going to change our plans. I still believe by September hopefully I'll be 100% better and we'll enjoy our wedding day fully. If not, we'll just alter a little bit."
Recently, Alex has been attending GB Hockey's training base once a week to spend time with her team-mates.
She wants to help them understand what she is going through but adds that it is challenging to do so. So she wrote a letter, in which she wrote things such as ‘short conversations are good’ and ‘I can feel your hugs, I can converse but the reality is I have an invisible illness that means I'm not able to live to my capacity’.
Alex wanted to make her teammates aware of her symptoms and to let them know that when she has fully recovered, she will tell them.
Alex also wants to help others with head injuries learn from her experience, especially the fact that she under-reported her symptoms:
"I under-reported and I learned the hard way.
"If this helps people who have it to be honest about what you're feeling and what you're going through... we'll have days when it's relentless and you think it won't go, but underneath just believe it will."
She added she is doing everything in her power to stay positive and behave as though she is going to get better, including hanging up her hockey stick for the time being as she is ‘nowhere near physically able to do that yet’.
Hannah Bottomley, Clinical Negligence solicitor here at Potter Rees Dolan, commented:
“I applaud Alex’s bravery in speaking up about brain injury and wanting to raise awareness of this sometimes ‘invisible’ condition. Brain injury can impact people in sorts of different ways but speaking up, reporting your symptoms and making sure you access medical care as soon as possible can make a real difference.
Having worked with a number of clients who have suffered brain injuries I know that getting the right treatment as soon as possible can make a real difference and am therefore grateful to Alex for highlighting her symptoms and encouraging others to seek help as soon as possible.”
Hannah Bottomley is a Clinical Negligence solicitor with Potter Rees Dolan. Should you have any queries about clinical negligence issues, or indeed any aspect of this article, and wish to speak with Hannah or any other member of the team please contact us on 0161 237 5888.