Queen Elizabeth's Foundation

Dear Friend,

Not the end, but a brave new beginning …

Suffering a brain injury can mean the end of a way of life but with the help of Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation, many people go on to a brave new beginning.

Howard’s Story …“I was 23 and looking back, my life was pretty complete; I was studying for a degree in computing at Kingston University, had a brilliant circle of friends, a family that was cool and a girlfriend I was truly in love with. It’s amazing how fast your life can be turned upside down.”

Howard was diagnosed with Wilson’s disease, a rare, genetic defect which can cause severe brain damage, liver failure and ultimately death. “At first, I was just tired and lethargic, then the ‘shakes’ started in my right hand and my speech became slurred. I lost coordination and balance and became paralysed from the waist down. I realised that I had both physical and mental problems to overcome and that a long road of rehabilitation lay ahead.

“I came to the Foundation’s Brain Injury Centre in February 2005. The physical problems were relatively easy to tackle and I am now walking again but what I was unable to even recognise, let alone address, were the mental issues. My life had been derailed through no fault of my own and I was angry. I was a different person, one that even I did not know. A person that family and friends found it difficult to accept. The hardest thing I had to come to terms with is that I would never be the same again. The knowledge is still there but the manner in which I access information has had to be re-routed and the process is now much slower.”

Howard has now returned home and is looking for a job in what he knows and loves best, IT. “Without the help of the Brain Injury Centre, I really do not know what would have happened to me. It has been a real roller coaster of emotions and the staff have been brilliant in helping me to recognise and accept both limitations and opportunities. It has been a privilege to have been here.”

Every year more than one million people in the UK receive treatment for a head injury, of these 9% suffer brain injury and many are left with some disability. Without your support Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation cannot continue its specialist help for people like Howard to rebuild their lives.

Thank you
Cynthia Robinson

Registered Charity Number 251051

http://www.qef.org/