I am running the 2025 London Marathon for Brain Research UK!

As many of you know on the 17th of November 2019 Stewart my husband had a subarachnoid haemorrhage – a bleed on the brain due to a blood vessel bursting. As a result of his injury, he was first blue lighted to Raigmore when after scans and seeing how serious his illness was it was decided his best chance was to transport him all the way to Edinburgh.

At the hospital I spoke to the Doctor when he was first taken ill, I asked if he would be ok the Dr said those words you hear on TV but never expect to have them spoken to you 'he is in the right place we are doing everything we can to save him' She could not tell me he would be fine. To be honest it was written on her face how serious this was. Looking back this quote resonates ‘That Day – Right in the middle of our life, on an ordinary day, the unthinkable happened. Everything went from ordinary to chaotic and there I stood, in the mess of it all, knowing there will now forever be a before an after’ – Sharyn Marsh – Leave her wild.

I had to go home to say goodbye to the kids there was no room in the Ambulance for me due to the number of doctors needed to support him on his journey. I needed to make my own way down. Everything had happened too fast to have had the kids come with us. I spoke to them with the confidence I did not feel and told them we would be back soon, and Daddy was going to get the care he needed. They gave me two of their teddies one to look after me and one for Dad. One is now affectionally now known as Dr Dog, pictures of Dr Dog were sent to the girls showing him looking after Daddy.

Once in Edinburgh Stewart was stabilised and it was decided he would need to have a lifesaving brain operation the next day. The plan was to coil the aneurysm which would make it stable and would essentially save his life. After an 8-hour operation I got the call that the operation had gone well it had been decided to use a web device as when doing the operation this was felt to be a more appropriate option. Our youngest daughter is obsessed with spiders so her Dad having a web in his brain gave her comfort as of course spiders would save Daddy! Although the operation was a success sadly due to complications Stewart caught an infection which resulted in him being in a coma for 10 days.

On the 28th of November he came out of the coma from then on, he continued to improve. He started doing more structured physiotherapy with a view to increasing his mobility and ultimately getting him back to walking. In the first few days after regaining consciousness, it was apparent everything was exhausting for him. Even sitting up in bed would exhaust him very quickly. It was also very demoralising for him as he was still bed bound.

I found taking him clothes into him each day and taking his washing home very comforting - it was nice to finally feel that I was able to provide physical help. Communication with him was terrible he still had the tracheotomy which meant he couldn't speak. We tried using a white board, but he was too weak to write. I managed to come up with a solution of writing out all the common phrases needed, and he could point to what he wanted which did work a lot better. The phrases were things like - I'm tired, thirsty, cold, hot etc.

As his lung capacity increased and his strength also improved, they were able to fit a valve which meant at periods he could speak - this was amazing to hear him speak after all this time was wonderful. He was also getting stronger and able to send me short messages when I wasn't at the hospital which made everything so much easier. I knew if he needed me, he could get in touch. As he was progressing in his recovery, I started travelling home to spend time with my kids it was lovely.

As well as the improvement in talking he was also doing so well with his mobility - he had decided very quickly that he couldn't cope with the hoist lifting him from bed so he worked hard to ensure he could get out of bed without it. Since the kids had been able to visit, I had seen a huge shift he was going to fight this with all he had, and he was, he was winning.

The above is a small window into how things were when Stewart was first ill, I wanted to provide some background into the effects a brain injury has. Without the research being done into brain injuries this story would have been painfully short. I am so grateful that research is being done and that improvements are being made all the time. I have no doubt I would not be telling our story with the positive outcome we have had without the help of the amazing brain research charities such as BRAIN RESEARCH UK. We have been so lucky that we are where we are, and our family has come though the other side of Stewarts brain injury and it is due to that I wanted to fund raise for this charity.

As a result of the mental health issues, I have faced during Stewarts journey I have found running as my release from the day-to-day stresses that come from supporting a family through a crisis – I have chosen to use running as a means of fundraising. I hope to raise a significant amount of money to help with research so people affected by brain injuries can have the best chance possible to survive and continue to live a happy and fulfilling life and not be limited by their illness.

Here we are almost 5 years on from That Day and life is good Stewart’s recovery has never failed not to amaze me and make me so proud. We have been so lucky due to the amazing research that has been done regarding that very complex organ the brain Stewart has received treatment that has saved his life and more than that it has also given him a good standard of life he is not the same person as before the brain injury but he is here and back to being an amazing Dad, Son, Brother, Uncle, Friend and Husband and for that the family is very grateful. I cannot be prouder to have this opportunity to run the London Marathon and while doing it raise some well needed funds for BRAIN RESEARCH UK.

Brain Research UK is the UKs leading national funder dedicated to research into neurological conditions. We fund vital research to increase understanding, improve diagnosis and treatment, and work towards the prevention of neurological conditions, to help people who suffer with them live better, longer. Our funding is currently focused on three priority research areas: Brain tumours, Brain and spinal cord injury, and Headache and facial pain. These are areas where there is a large unmet patient need that is not reflected in current funding levels. By concentrating our efforts on these three areas, we can have a more significant impact.

Help me to make a difference - your support means that we can continue to fund life-changing research so that people living with neurological conditions can live better longer.