In February 2024, Shannon's dad, Steve, was found unconscious on the kitchen floor. He was rushed to hospital, where scans revealed that he had suffered a catastrophic brain bleed.
Shannon joins Team #Brain Research to run the 2025 London Marathon, motivated by her Dad's experience. She tells their story.
On the morning of February 3rd 2024, my brother found Dad on our kitchen floor, unconscious, lifeless, and covered in his own sick. He immediately cleared the sick from his face and rolled him into the recovery position to start CPR. This saved Dad’s life.
From this moment on, life turned upside down. Air ambulance, ambulance cars, ambulance vans, all racing down the village roads and onto my driveway. I have never in my life felt shock and pain like it, to think the night before was possibly the last ever time in my life I see my dad well again, or even alive.
None of us knew what had actually happened and how Dad ended up on the kitchen floor, the night before he was absolutely fine, he just felt a bit sick, nothing sinister. We all thought maybe he'd had a heart attack, or just collapsed. None of us realised the extent of the accident, we never believed it was some serious brain damage. Dad was a strong, fit and healthy man.
Long story short, we all got to the hospital to be told Dad had had a catastrophic brain injury, a large bleed to the brain, and that we had just five minutes to make a decision on whether to perform life-saving surgery where he may come back to us not knowing who we are, or whether they don't perform surgery and he dies. As a family, we couldn't bear the thought of not giving Dad a chance, so we went ahead with the surgery. It all went well, but that day we were told Dad probably wasn’t going to make it, and to say our goodbyes...
Just over one year and five brain surgeries later, Dad is still with us. The progress he has made is remarkable. He is fully conscious, he knows who all of us are, he can talk, eat and drink, he’s learning to walk again and, day-by-day, he continues to improve. He is currently in a neuro rehabilitation unit with the best physios and speech/occupational therapists. He can come home on weekends and he’s due home for good later this year where he will continue to have rehabilitation.
Dad has fought all the odds, and we as a family are so incredibly proud of him. Rehabilitation has played the biggest part in his recovery and without brain research, rehab wouldn’t have been possible. Brain Research UK is one of the most important charities I’ve ever known. The brain is the most complex topic, and to have so many options to help those affected by neurological conditions is just miracle work. That’s exactly how I would describe my dad and what he’s going through… he is our miracle.
My Dad is my best friend—no one loves me like he does - and since his accident, this huge wave of determination came over me. He has always loved watching athletics on TV, he'd always call me in the room to watch the female races. Every time he'd say "You'd be a great runner my darlin" so now I feel it's my time to do what he'd love me to do and take on the London Marathon.
I've never been a runner before, I've never really had the motivation, but running has honestly helped me to cope. I can clear my head, and just know that while I'm running, I'm one step closer to making my Dad proud. I’m so grateful to have something amazing to focus on and to be training my absolute hardest to be able to take part in this incredible event.
Dad’s journey is our new life now, it’s still incredibly hard as we still face the mental battles of a brain injury. However, this doesn’t take away just how grateful we are to have Dad still with us and getting better however he can.
I will forever appreciate all the research that goes into neurological conditions such as traumatic brain injury. To live in this day and age with all the amazing technology there is which has helped save my dad’s life is just insane.
Thank you, Brain Research UK. Thank you, brain surgeons, and most of all, thank you Dad for fighting to still be here with us. We love you ❤️
Brain bleeds, like that suffered by Steve, are associated with a poor prognosis. Emergency treatment is needed to stop the bleed, relieving pressure on the brain and restoring normal blood flow to all parts of the brain. But further complications can unfold once the bleed has been stopped.
We are funding vital research led by Dr Zahraa Al-Ahmady at Nottingham Trent University. She is focused on a process called ferroptosis whereby the sudden presence of iron in the brain, from the leaked blood, causes delayed and irreversible damage to the brain. The team is testing new ways to counteract ferroptosis and so reduce the risk of brain damage following this kind of bleed. Find out more about Dr Al-Ahmady's research.
This research is only made possible thanks to the extraordinary efforts of people like Shannon who - quite literally - go the extra mile to raise vital funds. If you'd like to support our research, find out how you can get involved.
