Three inspirational stories of achievement by brain injury sufferers

We recently attended the inspirational Breaking More Boundaries conference, where we heard from a range of amazing people who told us about the challenges overcome by victims of serious injury.

One of the organisations in attendance was The Silverlining Charity, which brought Maggie Sargent, Kate Russell and Nicola Cale to tell us about the work carried out by the charity across the South of the UK, its involvement at a local level in and around Oxford and the incredible achievements of the ‘Silverliners’ they help on a day-to-day basis.

Well, we wanted to share the stories of three Silverliners, to highlight the amazing things that can be achieved in spite of a brain injury.

Richard’s story

Before Richard’s brain injury he was a very successful financial adviser with everything going for him. Richard had reached the upper echelons of his profession, was living a jetset lifestyle and had been a happily married family man for 29 years. At the age of 53, a road traffic collision turned his life upside down.

Whilst walking through central London, Richard was swept off his feet by a careless driver. During his treatment for numerous broken bones and internal bleeding, he suffered a pulmonary embolism and his heart stopped for between three and five minutes. This resulted in hypoxic shock to the brain - a near fatal medical complication that left Richard with a debilitating brain injury. For a long time, his life was in the balance and it was truly touch and go throughout his 45 days in intensive care.

While Richard was lucky to survive his injuries, he now suffers from numerous physical and cognitive disabilities and needs round-the-clock support. His short-term memory is very poor and he can no longer read or write. His injury has left him unable to drive his beloved sports car and he can no longer leave the house unattended. He also developed Parkinson Disease-type symptoms that have affected Richard’s walking and causes his hand to tremor. His injury left him unable to work. He had just started to teach his son his trade before his injury, however he has since had to sell his business.

For a long time, Richard struggled with a lack of purpose and direction after brain injury, he was barely a shadow of his former self. However, with the support of The Silverlining Charity, his friends and his family, he began to focus on his abilities rather than his disabilities.

Richard could be a Silverliner and a Rotarian, and he could educate others about his brain injury and inspire others - all at once. While he lost many friends during his recovery, in The Silverlining Charity and The Rotary Club he found new friendships and developed a great base of social support. He even gets invited on exotic holidays by his friends at the Rotary, so he hasn’t quite had to leave his jetset lifestyle behind just yet.

After delivering dozens of talks to community groups about his experiences of brain injury, he recently fulfilled his dream of speaking about his experiences of brain injury and The Silverlining Charity at a District Rotary Conference. Richard delivered a wonderful speech to a crowd of more than 600 people, receiving a standing ovation in the process.

He is always looking forward and now wants to reach further to deliver his message to fresh audiences across the UK and abroad.

Chris’s story

On a day like any other, Chris was returning home from a day out and had come to the end of his journey on his motorbike. Just as he was removing his helmet, a car swerved into him from behind. Chris was rushed to hospital by the local air ambulance and it was soon identified that he had sustained a life-threatening brain injury. Chris’s life was changed in an instant.

Before his injury, Chris had worked for The Co-Op for 19 years and had begun managing several local stores. He was eager to return to work after his injury and undertook a rehabilitation-at-work scheme. He put in a huge amount of effort to pick up where he left off and tackle issues he had developed with his balance.

Unfortunately, it soon became apparent that, despite making a good physical recovery, a number of cognitive issues left him struggling. It was difficult for Chris to concentrate and process information, so he decided to retire on medical grounds just over a year later. Without the support from friends and colleagues at work, he soon became isolated. He didn’t see his old friends, and living away from his parents left him relying on a small care team for all his needs.

Despite all he had been through, Chris was determined to get on with his life. With the support of a great care team, he began attending Silverlining Charity events and local Headway meetings. He soon began to make new friends and his confidence grew as he could reconnect with his community. While he could not return to paid employment, he was inspired to support charitable causes.

He soon identified that his passion lay in giving back to those who had supported his recovery, as well as working with children. He is now working in three volunteer roles, supporting the work of the local air ambulance service, the Silverlining Charity and The Children’s Society Charity Shop.He has completed four charity walks for the local air ambulance service and has raised just shy of £2,000 to support their services since his injury.

Recently, Chris participated in a trip run by The Silverlining Charity, giving him the opportunity to pursue charity work in Namibia. Silverliners are able to work together to undertake renovation projects, donate much-needed educational materials, clothes and basic supplies, and teach a class at a local school.

Chris really engaged with children at the local school, choosing to teach them the story of The Hungry Caterpillar.

He is now looking forward to kick-starting a new fundraising drive for his chosen charities in 2017.

Graeme’s story

At the age of 14, Graeme Mazur was already an accomplished golfer. He had a handicap of 9.6 and was recommended for a role coaching golf for Kent County. However, before Graeme could take up his coaching, everything changed. In 2000, he sustained a severe brain injury as a result of a car accident.

While Graeme was lucky to survive the accident, he was left with a semi-paralysis of his previously dominant right side, among other difficulties. Medical professionals thought he would never play golf again. The accident had spared his life, but he felt he had lost his passion and his purpose.

It was not until several years later when he was watching the Open Championship that Graeme was motivated to pick up his clubs and try to take up golf as a hobby again.

In 2010 Graeme was introduced to Gary Bason, the lead coach for Kent County disabled golf coaching. Gary saw the potential in Graeme and helped him to progress his game and coaching ability. With hard work, determination and the right support, Graeme progressed rapidly to getting a PGA Level 1 coaching badge after learning to play left handed. He was the first disabled person in the UK to achieve this qualification in 2011 and currently competes in disabled golf events across the UK, with a handicap of 25.

The Silverlining Charity has worked with Graeme for a number of years to support Graeme in following his dreams and ambitions. The charity recently partnered with Graeme to run a fundraising golf day, allowing him to share his passion with other Silverliners and fulfil one of his golfing ambitions; playing continuously between dawn and dusk.

Graeme is also helping the charity with a ground-breaking programme of golf coaching sessions at Pachesham Golf Club, specifically tailored to help introduce people affected by brain injury to the game, showing that there are no barriers to involvement in the sport. Since starting the initiative, two Silverliners have taken up golf as a hobby and many more have enjoyed the opportunity to try something new.

Graeme says: “I am passionate about promoting golf for all, especially the disabled. I want to lead by example and show that it is possible to overcome the physical and mental barriers to play golf both as a hobby and at competitive level.

“As part of my mission I am now helping to coach disabled clients from beginners to experienced players. I have held open days with The Silverlining Charity, offering free coaching to fellow Silverliners, some of whom have never played golf before. It gives me a great sense of achievement seeing the progress and enjoyment clients experience as they learn more about the game and take up golf.

In the future I plan to hold many more fundraising days and coaching sessions in conjunction with The Silverlining Charity.”

Outside of Graeme’s golfing passions, he has been particularly motivated to take part in the charity’s Namibia Missions. In 2016 he embarked on his second trip. Shortly before leaving for Africa he said:

“The Silverlining Charity is dear to my heart because it enables me to build friendships and enjoy a range of activities in the community. I am soon going to be heading off to Namibia I will be working with a team of Silverliners to improve the conditions of a school for those children living in poverty. It gives me great satisfaction that, as a team, we have a positive and lasting impact on the lives of others much less fortunate than ourselves.”