Megan and her mum Lesley, from Aberdeen, have kindly agreed to share the story of their family’s acquired brain injury experience. They hope that their story will help raise awareness of the support the Child Brain Injury Trust provides to families after a child’s brain is suddenly injured. Lesley is also fundraising to help us offer more support in the North of Scotland. You can visit her Just Giving page here.
Megan was struck by a vehicle in Aberdeen city center in January this year. The collision resulted in a serious brain injury requiring emergency surgery. Lesley said, “Because of the extent of her brain injury they had to remove part of the skull to drain a clot. When they took the skull part off, her brain swelled really badly. They couldn’t put it back on so the best way to keep it alive was to put it in her tummy.”
Terrifyingly, after the accident, Megan awoke from a 24- hour coma to find she had lost the use of her legs as well as her memory and had no feeling in her right side. She spent the first two months of her recovery in hospital and the section of skull remained in Megan’s stomach for months, meaning she had to wear a special hat during waking hours. It was eventually replaced in June, once the swelling had gone down.
Lesley told us, “We were all left confused and anxious to what the outcome was going to be. I was put in touch with the Child Brain Injury Trust and one conversation with their support worker, Beth, resulted in me feeling more in control and understanding what was going on, also able to explain to others.”
When Beth visited the family home she was able to speak to Megan’s two younger sisters and explain to them about brain injury in a way that they could understand. She also gave a presentation to Megan’s regular teachers at school with lots of interactive activities that help people understand how much more difficult everyday tasks can become after a brain injury.
Seven months on from the accident, after 3 operations and intense physio, Megan has made great progress and is now walking short distances and attending school twice a week for three hours. Lesley said, “the biggest issue we have found with having a brain injury is the fact that now Megan is looking well people are less understanding of her ‘invisible’ longer-lasting injury.”
“By making people more aware and having more support in this direction we are hoping it will make life a little easier not only for Megan but other children in a similar situation.”
“Unfortunately due to the fact they are based in Edinburgh and we are in Aberdeen visits are limited.”
You can read more on Megan’s journey in the Sun. If you are seeking support after a child’s injury, please contact our Helpline. If you would like to help us raise funds for our vital services, please contact Claire Murray at clairemurray@cbituk.org.