As many of you know in February 2021, when I was 37, I suffered a dissection of my carotid artery whilst running which led to a massive stroke and subsequent swelling of the brain. As a result of the care and treatment I received from the medical team at Salford Royal I received a thrombectomy and decompressive craniotomy operation which literally saved my life and has allowed me to return to family life. I have since received a further cranioplasty operation at Salford Royal to replace the section of my skull which was removed to save my life.

Without the life saving care and treatment provided at Salford Royal it is impossible to say what my future and my family’s future would have looked like and I owe the staff at Salford Royal so much. Now that I have recovered to the extent that I am back running (something which I was initially told I would never do again) I want to raise as much money as I can for Salford Royal. My fundraising will start with the Wilmslow half marathon on 26 March 2023, this will be followed by a 5k a day challenge in May and a non-running related event later in the year.

As a family we couldn’t have got through the last two years without the love and support of our family and some amazing friends but I am once again asking for your help!!! If you are able to make a donation to support the Geoffrey Jefferson Brain Research Centre, a centre led by Salford Royal who specialise in research to find new treatments and improve recovery for brain injury and other neurological conditions, I would be extremely grateful.