A life-changing trip

“Until everything changed in March 2023, I didn’t really know much about brain injury. I knew Michael Schumacher had one and was never seen on camera again – so I knew how serious they could be. But like all of us, I guess, I thought ‘that’s not something that could ever happen to me.

I was working hard, living alone, enjoying playing sport, being with friends and family – the usual stuff. I’ve skied my whole life, since I was little, so I’m confident on the slopes, and looked forward to a long weekend skiing with my brothers. Little did I know how life-changing that trip would turn out to be.

The day of the accident started as normal – but from lunchtime onwards, my memory is sketchy and I have to rely on others to piece it together for me. It’s funny, the things you remember; like my brother-in-law reminding me not to have a big lunch – we really wanted cheese fondue for dinner that night! And then I remember trying out his fancy skis that afternoon which, ironically, I didn’t feel safe in, so changed back to my own.

But those are the last things I remember. So the events that followed are as others have retold them to me.

We went over a lip on the mountain, and as I landed, my skis went downwards and got stuck in the snow. My feet came out of them and my head (I was wearing a helmet) hit some hardened snow and ice in a rocky ditch.

My brother saw what had happened and came to me, waving people to help. I was unconscious, barely breathing and miles from everywhere. By some miracle, two doctors, on holiday from the UK, came to help when they saw people gathered around me. I don’t know what would’ve happened if they hadn’t been there – I’m sure they helped keep me alive.
We waited for two hours on the slopes until the helicopter arrived. The medics intubated me so I could breathe (I had a seizure while they did this) and put me in an induced coma before taking me away to hospital.

My brother wasn’t allowed to come with me, so he had to see me flying off in a helicopter – with no idea what was wrong with me, or whether I would survive. He said it was the worst experience of his life. By this point it was dark – he had to ski back and give the terrifying news to my family back home.

A devastating turn

I was flown to a hospital in southeastern France, where doctors drilled a hole in my skull to drain blood and fluid from my brain. The brain scans showed the prognosis wasn’t looking good. Doctors warned that I’d had a haemorrhage on my left frontal lobe and were convinced that, if I ever woke up, I’d be permanently paralysed on the right side of my body and would be a very different person to the one before the accident.

It was truly horrendous for my family, and it was at this point that they came to learn of Headway. There was so much information and medical jargon that they had to understand really quickly. The information Headway provided was a complete lifeline to them – it helped break everything down in a way that was easy to absorb, and gave them comfort that they weren’t alone. Even, that there was hope.

When I finally woke from the coma, ten days later, I had no idea where I was or what had happened. I was convinced I was dying because what other reason was there for me to be here? My injury meant I didn't trust anyone, so even when the doctors or my family told me what had happened, I didn’t believe them.

Progress against the odds

But over the next few days, I started to make unexpected progress. I slowly – so slowly – started learning to walk again. It was amazing – every day, a little more progress. But it was also then that I started to understand the scale of my injury. I had to relearn almost everything. Daily goals were as simple as just managing to stay awake for one hour, being alert enough to have a conversation, being able to count. I was almost childlike.

After three weeks at the hospital in France, gradually learning how to come back to life, I returned to the UK to continue my treatment. There were times I felt really depressed. I still had a long way to go with my recovery and didn’t know what the future held, but I just kept working hard and somehow, bit by bit, the old ‘me’ started to return.

A bit of hope

After finally leaving hospital, I couldn’t be left alone – even at home. But as my recovery continued, I was able to return to work and eventually, live independently again.

There are still unknown things about my injury – and my ability to sleep well, or recall words, is definitely harder than before. But I always believe that it will pass and tomorrow will be different.

In a funny way, I’m grateful for this experience. I learned so much about myself and how I deal with adversity. So to anyone going through something similar right now, try to hold on to a bit of hope.

When I was able to read again, my sister showed me the Headway website and downloaded loads of their booklets for me. I read as much as I could physically muster – it really helped. Because that's the dangerous part, right? When all you can do is just be in your own head and imagine the worst-case scenario – which it could so easily have been. I’m so glad the information from Headway was there to help me overcome that – and that it’s there for others, too. Because you never know when you, or your loved one, might need it.”

Make a donation today to ensure brain injury survivors like Eli – and their loved ones – get access the support they need to rebuild their life.

• £21.66 could fund a call to Headway’s free, nurse-led helpline, enabling families to receive specialist advice at any stage of brain injury.
• £43.80 could provide five brain injury survivors with Headway Brain Injury Identity Cards, giving them confidence in social situations and access to the right support.
• £87.50 could fund the production of information booklets for 50 people, giving families like Eli’s the information they need to navigate life after brain injury.
• £114 could contribute to a grant from our emergency fund, helping cover travel and accommodation expenses so loved ones can be together in the immediate aftermath of brain injury.
• £228 – the average grant from our emergency fund – could cover travel and accommodation expenses, allowing loved ones to be together at the most critical moments of injury.