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Give Natasha time and space to care

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On the 20th of August 2016, Alex and Natasha’s lives changed forever. 


While on holiday in Greece, Alex suffered a series of devastating strokes. The first was a severe Ischemic double stroke to his basilar actuary after which Alex fell into a coma, followed 10 days later by a haemorrhagic stroke to his optical lobe. 

 
Natasha and Alex’s first child is due on December 16th 2016 and they were mid-way through renovating their first home at the time of Alex’s strokes. The last months, which should have been a time of celebration and excitement for Natasha and Alex, have been a period of unimaginable upheaval, upset and uncertainty. 


Both the left and right side of Alex’s cerebellum, the area of the brain responsible for muscle movement, coordination and balance, were damaged together with his brain stem, responsible for sending messages to the body, as well as his vision. 


The quality of medical care Alex received in Greece was extremely basic. No rehabilitation or physiotherapy was available meaning the critical window for early treatment was missed. Alex remained in Greece for 3 and a half weeks before he was repatriated home to the UK on September 12th when he finally started to receive the care he needed at the Neurosciences unit at the John Radcliffe hospital, Oxford. 

 
Almost 4 months later, Alex remains seriously unwell. He needs help to move in any way, is unable to maintain his own airways and is fed through a nasogastric tube. On 29th November he was moved from the critical care unit in Horton hospital, Banbury to the Oxford Centre for Enablement, a specialist Neuro rehabilitation centre.


Alex is no longer classified as comatose as he opens his eyes and has sleep and wake patterns. Those around him feel he has a level of consciousness and awareness although this has not been proven. Attempts to develop a form of communication have frustratingly so far been unsuccessful. 
 

Almost 9 months pregnant, Natasha travels to Oxford every day from her home in Banbury to be at Alex’s side. She has spent every day with Alex since his first stroke, working alongside his medical team and physiotherapists to do everything she can to aid Alex’s recovery. Alex is currently undergoing an intensive programme of rehabilitation, designed to provide stimulus with the hope of regaining as much brain function as possible. However, the road of recovery ahead will be very long and uncertain. 


 
This fund has been created to ease some of the financial stresses Natasha now carries, hopefully allowing her a little breathing space to focus not only on ensuring Alex receives the care he needs but also importantly on caring for their new baby when he or she arrives in the next week or two.

Your support is greatly appreciated, thank you.

Donations 

  • Kathryn (Naomi's mum)
    • £100 (Offline)
    • 7 yrs

Organizer

Naomi Newton-Sherlock
Organizer

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