Run for Brainwave 2014

It was about this time in the summer of '93 and I was due to go to a barbeque at a friends house, celebrating the start of what should be a great summer for us all. That barbeque never happened. Making their way to get ready for the bbq, Damita and some friends were about to cross the road at a crossing. At this point some terrible coincidences aligned, the bus stopped, this must mean the lights had changed, the friends were safe to cross. Behind the bus, the car driver could see the bus stopped at the bus stop and the light green, it was safe to overtake the bus and keep driving.

I don't know the speed of the impact, the limit for the road is 40mph, I drive on it and never exceed, I'm usually the slowest driver. what I do know was the impact was devastating, Damita took the full force and was thrown into the air and a considerable distance down the road, the others escaped with minor injuries.

An off duty nurse near by heard the impact and rushed to the scene, his actions helped keep her alive until the ambulance crew arrived. By the time her parents arrived at Newcastle General Hospital they were told to prepare for the worst, the serious brain injury meant that there was almost no chance.

To survive, Damita would need highly specialist, very expensive machinery which the NHS couldn't afford. The NHS don't spend your money on equipment that, while occasionally useful, would lie dormant a lot of the time, they need to get the most from their/your money. That's all very well, until it's your friend that needs the kit. Without it I wouldn't have to spend the summer visiting hospitals, I would just have a funeral to attend.

Luckily a charity called "Brainwave" exist, they buy this type of kit and loan it to the hospital. With this kit, 'no chance' turns into 'a fighting chance'.

A fighting chance was all Damita, now in a coma, needed, she defied the doctors and made it through the next 24hrs, then 48, then off intensive care and into the high dependency unit, all the time, machines from Brainwave were helping her fight and this fight went on for months.

I spent a lot of my summer, and then autumn, and then winter.. you get the picture, at Damita's bedside, wittering away at her as she lay silent and unresponsive. Saying silent prayers and crossing fingers. Thanks to her determination and the machines from Brainwave she made it through.

When she found out I was running this years Great North Run, she asked if I would do it to raise money for Brainwave, now, as you probably know, I do a lot of runs, I don't do them for charity as I don't want to be "that" guy, always banging on about raising money for something by doing the thing he loves doing anyway. There was always an exception to this rule, and this is it.

So, if you know Damita, or even if you don't, please could you follow the link at the end and give as little, or as much as you can. If you'd care to share this status, and let your friends know what your friend/cousin/brother/work colleague/bloke you know from the running site/ bloke you know from the footy site is doing please feel free.

Thank you for reading.

everyclick.com/runtrevrun/info