As some of you (who have been unfortunate enough to have me chew your ear off about it...) may know I am running the London Marathon on 21st April for Headway Southampton.

Both my Dad and Sister have had their lives changed dramatically due to strokes.

On 13th December 2013, my sister’s life changed immeasurably. A severe stroke left her in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for a week, followed by a further month is hospital and 3 months in rehabilitation, leaving her with a drastically altered life. This incident rendered her legally disabled and unable to work, leaving our family unsure on her future independence and what life would hold for her.

Headway Southampton provided vital support in rebuilding my sister's life, to a point of independence which seemed almost impossible in the period following the stroke. My sister is flourishing and I have to attribute a lot of that to the support provided to her by Headway Southampton.

Headway Southampton is a local charity based in Totton near Southampton, that offers support, advice and rehabilitation services to adults with an acquired brain injury (ABI) from across Southampton City, New Forest, Winchester, Romsey & Eastleigh districts, parts of Fareham borough and recently supporting Salisbury and South East Wiltshire.

Their mission is to improve the lives and promote the independence of local brain injury survivors; to provide support and advice to their families, friends and carers and to raise awareness of the life changing effects of brain injury.