Haydn Beynon

A new lease of life

While James Cracknell's recent cycling accident has made the headlines, thousands of people each year are involved in accidents while cycling. Haydn Beynon sustained a brain injury when he was knocked off his bike. Here is his story.

On 2 June 1988, 27-year-old Haydn Beynon was knocked off his bicycle by a car and dragged for 100 yards while cycling to his parents' house from work in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. He was rushed to hospital but the initial medical examination left his family with little hope for his survival.

Along with numerous broken bones, Haydn had a collapsed lung, deep lacerations to his body and swelling of the brain. He was put on life support before surgeons decided to perform an operation to ease the pressure on his brain. Haydn survived the surgery but was left in a coma for the following five weeks.

After three months of being in various hospitals and rehabilitation units he moved back to live with his parents. The accident had left Hadyn with severe difficulty in co-ordinating his limb movements, meaning he was unable to walk or even feed himself. He also had cognitive impairments, affecting his ability to process information, speak and remember. Furthermore, Haydn could not sleep on his own due to anxiety attacks, for which he is still receiving treatment.

Haydn began his long road to recovery and as time went by he was able to take walks with his brother in town. On one of these walks, just one year after the accident, Haydn passed a gym. Despite having never been in a gym before, Haydn discovered a new sense of confidence and decided to have a fitness assessment.

Although he was still struggling with co-ordination difficulties, Haydn was found to have high levels of natural fitness and began training at the gym nine hours a week as well as running regularly and maintaining a strict diet. All this earned Haydn the nickname 'The Walking Miracle' by his doctors.

Eventually, it was suggested to Haydn that he enter the National Cross Training Challenge, a competition to find the fittest person in Britain. He did so and has since qualified for this competition five times between 1995 and 2001.

"Fitness gave me a new lease on life," said Haydn. "While not everyone who sustains a brain injury will be physically able to achieve my level of fitness, it is still very important to keep a goal or focus in mind."

Now 49, Haydn still experiences memory loss and has been unable to work since the accident. He is currently looking for a ghost-writer to help him achieve his next goal of writing his life story in an effort to inspire others with brain injury to overcome adversity.

He said: "It will tell them to never give up and show them there is always something at the end of the rainbow."