Julie Davies
Julie's 3 Peaks
Fundraising for Headway Cardiff & South East Wales
Story
We've come together to take on Julie's 3 Peaks Challenge. The team members are:
Rhodri Davies, Conway Davies, Gareth Mahoney, Andy Williams, Chris Nelmes, Geraint Jones, Sian Jones, Shane Bottcher, Staceyanne Bottcher, Gareth Sullivan, Lois Sullivan, James Emery, Kay Salisbury, Matthew Phillips, Luned Gwyn, Dylan Jones, Rhydian Roberts, Hywel Thomas, Pete Goodman, Debbie Goodman, Ceri Gill, Esme Brant, Maxine Williams, Gareth Ellis and Jen Ellis, Martin Spicer, Ann Dacey, Hayley Rogers, James Spear, Lucy Barnett, Gareth Burris, Alun Gapper, Marg Gapper, Luke Fayers, Joanne Atkinson (Terry), Gavin Hallewell, Jennifer Evans
On the 14-16 August a group of friends and family of Julie Davies (See group below) have joined together to take on the challenge of climbing Wales’ three highest peaks.
Julie was born with a rare condition known as an AVM (Arteriovenous Malformation) which is a tangle of blood vessels in the brain which causes blood to bypass normal brain tissue and directly diverts blood from the arteries to the veins. AVM’s are very rare and occur in less than 1% of the general population. The most dangerous symptom of a Brain AVM is an increased chance of the vessels in the brain to bleed (haemorrhage). The risk of a brain AVM bleeding is 4% which increases by age and the number of bleeds that occur. The risk of death related to each bleed is 10 percent to 15 percent. The chance of permanent brain damage is 20 percent to 30 percent. Other symptoms of include seizures, severe headaches, and stroke-like symptoms Inc. difficulty with movement, speech, vision and memory.
In 2008, Julie suffered a severe brain haemorrhage which resulted in her having life-saving surgery and subsequently required many years of painful treatment and rehabilitation. The damaging effects of the haemorrhage went far beyond the physical as Julie had to give up her high-flying career, her active lifestyle, her home in Manchester and her driving licence, the loss of which was far more painful than any surgery. It was therefore testament to how far she had come in her recovery when, at the beginning of the year, she set herself the challenge to climb Wales’s Highest Peaks in May 2015 to co-coincide with the 7th anniversary of her brain hemorrhage.
Due to her physical limitations, this was a big challenge for Julie but she was determined and was training hard to ensure she raised as much as possible for Headway, Cardiff as a mark of appreciation for their help and support through her recovery.
Unfortunately in February 2015 Julie suffered another brain haemorrhage which meant more brain surgery, complete rest and starting the process of recovery again. This means that not only can she not undertake this challenge, but due to the effects of the second bleed, she won't be able to undertake anything like it again. As a result we have all promised to see the challenge through on Julie’s behalf and to work together to raise funds for Headway, Cardiff through this and other challenges and activities throughout the year.
The services offered by Headway, Cardiff are invaluable to survivors of brain injury, and have been instrumental in Julie’s earlier recovery and will continue to play a big part in the recovery journey she has ahead of her again. Brain injury can be a crippling and isolating condition and every single sufferer's case is unique both physically and psychologically and so is their need for support tailored to them. This is an expensive and complex challenge for Headway, Cardiff as they work tirelessly to provide as much support to as many people as possible.
So, here comes the begging bit! Dig deep guys, all pennies are welcome and massively appreciated.
Rhodri Davies, Conway Davies, Gareth Mahoney, Andy Williams, Chris Nelmes, Geraint Jones, Sian Jones, Shane Bottcher, Staceyanne Bottcher, Gareth Sullivan, Lois Sullivan, James Emery, Kay Salisbury, Matthew Phillips, Luned Gwyn, Dylan Jones, Rhydian Roberts, Hywel Thomas, Pete Goodman, Debbie Goodman, Ceri Gill, Esme Brant, Maxine Williams, Gareth Ellis and Jen Ellis, Martin Spicer, Ann Dacey, Hayley Rogers, James Spear, Lucy Barnett, Gareth Burris, Alun Gapper, Marg Gapper, Luke Fayers, Joanne Atkinson (Terry), Gavin Hallewell, Jennifer Evans
On the 14-16 August a group of friends and family of Julie Davies (See group below) have joined together to take on the challenge of climbing Wales’ three highest peaks.
Julie was born with a rare condition known as an AVM (Arteriovenous Malformation) which is a tangle of blood vessels in the brain which causes blood to bypass normal brain tissue and directly diverts blood from the arteries to the veins. AVM’s are very rare and occur in less than 1% of the general population. The most dangerous symptom of a Brain AVM is an increased chance of the vessels in the brain to bleed (haemorrhage). The risk of a brain AVM bleeding is 4% which increases by age and the number of bleeds that occur. The risk of death related to each bleed is 10 percent to 15 percent. The chance of permanent brain damage is 20 percent to 30 percent. Other symptoms of include seizures, severe headaches, and stroke-like symptoms Inc. difficulty with movement, speech, vision and memory.
In 2008, Julie suffered a severe brain haemorrhage which resulted in her having life-saving surgery and subsequently required many years of painful treatment and rehabilitation. The damaging effects of the haemorrhage went far beyond the physical as Julie had to give up her high-flying career, her active lifestyle, her home in Manchester and her driving licence, the loss of which was far more painful than any surgery. It was therefore testament to how far she had come in her recovery when, at the beginning of the year, she set herself the challenge to climb Wales’s Highest Peaks in May 2015 to co-coincide with the 7th anniversary of her brain hemorrhage.
Due to her physical limitations, this was a big challenge for Julie but she was determined and was training hard to ensure she raised as much as possible for Headway, Cardiff as a mark of appreciation for their help and support through her recovery.
Unfortunately in February 2015 Julie suffered another brain haemorrhage which meant more brain surgery, complete rest and starting the process of recovery again. This means that not only can she not undertake this challenge, but due to the effects of the second bleed, she won't be able to undertake anything like it again. As a result we have all promised to see the challenge through on Julie’s behalf and to work together to raise funds for Headway, Cardiff through this and other challenges and activities throughout the year.
The services offered by Headway, Cardiff are invaluable to survivors of brain injury, and have been instrumental in Julie’s earlier recovery and will continue to play a big part in the recovery journey she has ahead of her again. Brain injury can be a crippling and isolating condition and every single sufferer's case is unique both physically and psychologically and so is their need for support tailored to them. This is an expensive and complex challenge for Headway, Cardiff as they work tirelessly to provide as much support to as many people as possible.
So, here comes the begging bit! Dig deep guys, all pennies are welcome and massively appreciated.