Today I received a telephone call from a lovely lady, Christine Brown, of Clifton, Preston, Lancashire, whose son Stuart, now aged 33, sustained a severe brain injury when he was 8 years old and wasn't given much of a chance of living, never mind making any sort of meaningful recovery.

Christine called to tell me that she saw the recent local publicity and thought our scheme is a wonderful innovation, wished us well and every success, and told me she wished it had been available 25 years ago and that she just had to call me to let me know.  

She told me she believed that if Stuart had received early multi disciplinary rehabilitation all those years ago he would have avoided complications, his function would have improved much faster, and it may have offered a better chance of some sort of return to productivity or even work.

In the event it took years to conclude his case, with no rehabilitation whatsoever, except for the loving and devoted care from his Mum and Dad. The compensation was all too late to be of use to him as far as his optimal improvement and quality of life was concerned. 

Stuart now lives in a bungalow with his Mum and Dad, which was purchased out of the proceeds of his compensation claim. He is happy but Christine is left wondering how much better he could have been if the benefits of the Rehab4Life scheme had been available in those days. His Mum and Dad know just how difficult it is to care for someone who has suffered a brain injury. They have done a marvellous job despite the distinct lack of help over many years since his injury. It altered their lives dramatically but they coped and dealt with it with considerable fortitude and good spirits.

I told her about the way the scheme worked and she confirmed that getting early multi disciplinary rehabilitation, within weeks of the injury, as well as money to help with lost earnings, is by far and away the single most important aspect of any claim and the sooner it is done the better, irrespective of cost considerations. She pointed out that the amount of damages is secondary to rebuilding the victim’s life. She went as far as to say that she would have paid back every penny of the compensation to have been able to give him the best chance of a meaningful recovery in those early days. She loved the idea of being able to access money to pay for valuable early multi disciplinary rehabilitation and money to cover loss of earnings, on a no risk basis in the event the compensation claim was unsuccesful.  Christine also stressed just how crucially important it is to use the right solicitor, who understands the issues and what is needed and when it is needed and who is prepared to go to the ends of the earth to make a difference to the lives of vulnerable brain injury victims.

Thank you, Christine. Thank you very much for your comments and well wishes. It means a lot to us to know we are making a difference.

If anyone else reading this wants to comment, good or bad, please email me on andrew.lindsay@rehab4life.co.uk