When Alastair Wallace missed a single step on the stairs at Oxford Circus Station, he thought he’d simply stumbled. Instead, he woke up days later in intensive care, with half his skull removed and his life dramatically altered.
The 51-year-old, from Willesden Green in North West London, sustained a brain haemorrhage and skull fracture and, after being in an induced coma, spent two weeks in hospital where he had to wear a BMX helmet to protect his brain.
“I missed one step that day in 2019 and the next thing I woke up in hospital with half my head missing,” he said.
“I feel like I was really lucky, but it’s been a journey.”
The years that followed put Alastair, CEO of a leadership training and consultancy company, on an unexpected path toward rebuilding his identity.
He subsequently experienced a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak, which required regular visits to his neurosurgeon who “would stick a needle in and drain it every few months.”
Alastair himself came up with the ingenious idea of wearing a swimming cap to contain the leak, which his neurosurgeon thought was both practical and inspired.
Alastair said: “I wore a swimming cap for 12 months- which was very uncomfortable- and had to sleep in a bed at a 45-degree angle.
“I actually went on a fourth date while wearing the swimming cap, which must have looked a bit odd. Fortunately, my date was able to see passed all of that and see the person underneath, and we got engaged in January last year!”
“Sometimes you have to be part of the solution. We think medicine is so advanced and doctors have all the answers but a lot of the time they’re solving quite practical problems.”
After a year of wearing a tight and uncomfortable swimming cap, Alastair’s neurosurgeon looked at a longer-term solution via having a ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt inserted; a medical device that drains excess CSF from the brain to the abdomen.
“It’s basically like a drainpipe that runs down the back of my skull into my stomach cavity and then my body metabolises it,” Alastair said.
“When they were putting the shunt in, they accidentally damaged a nerve that controls my right eyebrow, so I can’t raise that eyebrow.
“My job is very client-facing- standing in front of rooms of people, training people- and first impressions matter. If I don’t feel confident about my own appearance it makes that aspect of my job really difficult.”
Another symptom of Alastair’s brain injury was losing his sense of smell- “a disaster”, he said, for someone “who loves food and cooking”.
But, just like with the swimming cap, Alastair was keen to find a solution and taught himself to smell again utilising a method which uses four distinct aromas- lemon, eucalyptus, clove and rose.
“They were more than just smells to me; they were signposts on the way back to being me, he said.”
“My sense of smell is never going to be what it was but it’s definitely better than directly post-accident.
“It took some time and it was quite a frustrating process, but practice makes better, not perfect.”
During his recovery process, Alastair was introduced to brain injury charity Headway – the brain injury association, who provide vital support and information services to survivors, carers and loved ones.
He said: “The first experience I had of Headway was in the waiting room awaiting to see my neurosurgeon. A lovely woman was handing out leaflets and providing support.
“Then I went to a couple of events with my local Headway, Headway West London, and met other survivors- lots with similar stories to me.
“One of the reasons I was drawn to Headway is unless you’ve had a brain injury, nobody really understands what it’s like.”
Alastair’s experience with brain injury and the on-going recovery process led him to achieving a personal goal- delivering an inspiring TEDx Talk.
‘Falling Forward: How Catastrophe Forged Connection’ details Alastair’s accident, finding solutions and finding yourself again when tragedy or trauma changes your life in an instant.
He said: “I started that day in 2019 with a clear identity and thought I knew who I was. I was a 46-year-old CEO, a leadership trainer, a brother, a friend, a son.
“But who was I now, with a smashed in skull, a fuzzy brain and this fear that I couldn’t seem to shake?
“This journey taught me that we’re not our polished social media profiles or our job descriptions; we’re who we become when things fall apart a bit.”
Watch Alastair’s TEDx Talk here: Falling Forward: How Catastrophe Forged Connection | Alastair Wallace | TEDxWorthing
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