Julie Mueller

Julie Mueller has nothing but praise for the Headway Emergency Fund after her son, Luke, sustained a brain injury in August 2020.

“I woke up at 4am to missed calls from Luke’s then-girlfriend, also the police on the Isle of Skye and Aberdeen Royal infirmary,” explained Julie.

“I spoke with a nurse from the intensive care unit and was told my son had fallen 100ft, hit his head and broken both his legs.

“Understandably I was shocked and extremely worried, it felt very surreal to be woken with the news in the middle of the night, it is every parent’s worst nightmare.

“A phone call later in the morning from a doctor revealed that Luke had undergone surgery to repair his legs and was stable but the head injury, which he called a ‘diffuse axonal injury’, was of major concern and Luke was heavily sedated.

“They were not sure how he would be when he eventually woke up and gave it to us straight: it was a case of ‘hope for the best but prepare for the worst’.

“We live in Warrington – 350 miles from Aberdeen. We were unsure of how we could possibly get our large family up there, where we could stay or even if we would be allowed to enter Aberdeen because of the lockdown restrictions there.

Having to deal with this on top of the worry for Luke was terrible but we wanted to be by Luke’s side immediately and there was no doubt that we would all go.”

A doctor friend told the family about the support available from Headway, which proved to be invaluable.

“Luke’s brother initially checked the website for more information about head injuries, looking to provide some answers and cut through all of the unknown. He stumbled upon the grant that was available and convinced me to apply as the financial burden was increasing with every day we spent up in Aberdeen.

“The financial support was crucial and helped immensely. It was a huge relief to have one less thing to worry about and all our efforts could be spent supporting Luke in his recovery.

“The grant allowed me to stay in Aberdeen until Luke was well enough to be transferred to a hospital closer to home. In total I stayed in Aberdeen for four weeks. With a brain injury I believe that familiar faces and voices were a huge part of reassuring him when he was first waking up in a strange environment, so I was glad to have the opportunity.

“To any others facing a similar situation, I would say for them to make use of the brilliant resources on the Headway website. They provided some clarity and reassurance in a stressful time.

Take all the help that is offered so that you can focus your strength on supporting your injured family member.