Rachel Mitchell's story as written by her son, Jon, one of the LEJOG cycling team. The LEJOG cycling team also include Phil Haddleton, Robbie Hynes and Theo Gayton.

The team are riding 1000 miles from Land’s End to John o’Groats across the span of one week (142 miles a day) to support Dene Barton’s Specialist Neuro Rehabilitation Centre, who played a crucial role in Rachel Mitchell's recovery from a series of life threatening strokes in 2017.

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I write this fundraising page sitting once again, in a waiting room in Bristol’s Southmead Hospital. As part of my Mum’s continuing treatment, we are here today to support her as she undergoes the first of two final operations which should complete her brain surgery.

Rewind to June 2017, the moment my whole family’s lives were put on hold. I was out in Budapest on my stag with good friends, including Phil, Theo and Robbie (the LEJOG crew) when I received a call that myself and everyone doing this ride will never forget. The boys watched as my sister broke the tragic news that my Mum had been unexpectedly rushed to a Specialist Neurological Unit back home in England after a severe, life threatening bleed on her brain (ruptured aneurysm) was identified as the cause of her intense headaches. With the help of Theo, Robbie and Phil and all the boys out there, I got on the first flight back to the UK, and prepared myself for the worst. Some of the top brain surgeons in the country, together with the Intensive Care Unit team at Southmead performed the impossible. They fought with great skill, against all the odds over a 3 month period to eventually stem the bleeding, and control the complication of fluid building up around the brain, ultimately saving her life.

The road to stabilising her medical condition was not without its ups and downs, very much like hilly sections of our planned cycle route from Land’s End to John o’Groats. After showing us all her true fighting spirit and becoming medically stable at Bristol Hospital, my Mum was transferred to Dene Barton’s Specialist Neuro Rehabilitation Centre, where arguably her biggest personal challenge awaited her.

Many parts of Mum’s brain had been severely damaged as a result of the life-threatening stroke. This meant that the day she entered Dene Barton, she could not feed herself, could not move her legs so could not walk or stand and her speech was extremely limited.

After many hard months of physio, speech and occupational therapy sessions, Mum began to show signs of slight improvement. This was a result of the sheer dedication shown by the staff at Dene Barton, their hard work and professionalism, as well as my Mum’s grit and determination to retrain her brain and body.

The first sign of improvement we witnessed was when she managed to first stand up. A close bond formed between Mum and staff at Dene Barton, gradually leading to her being able to fully walk unaided. Seeing Mum walk again for the first time since her brain injury was very emotional for staff, my Mum and the whole family. Another big achievement was the Speech and Occupational Therapist team teaching mum to carry out everyday tasks, such as making a cup of tea, that we take for granted but are essential for independent living.

On February 2018, Mum had improved both physically and mentally so much that Dene Barton staff were happy for her to return to her own home in Lyme Regis.

From the moment I received the call out in Budapest, to being supportive at my wedding (whilst Mum was still in a critical state in hospital) the whole LEJOG crew have been actively cheering my Mum on as she battles to recovery. Phil, Theo, Robbie and I have decided to take on the challenge of riding 1000 miles from Land’s End to John o’Groats across the span of one week (142 miles a day) to raise funds for Dene Barton to improve their outdoor communal gardens. The whole LEJOG team have seen how hard recovering from a brain injury is and to be able to sit outside in the sunshine in a lovely garden can bring some peace and happiness to patients, staff and visitors. We are riding in recognition of the team effort that the staff at Dene Barton continue to make to the lives of so many patients who come through their doors. We want them all to be as lucky as my Mum who is continuing on her road to recovery but looking forward to many happy years ahead with family and friends.

We all know my Mum, Rachel Mitchell would not be where she is today, without Dene Barton so any donations would be gratefully received.