Help Ian (Coozer) with his stroke recovery

Support for Ian’s Stroke

Hello to anyone that’s clicked the link or stumbled across this go fund me page. I am hoping to get any help I can in raising money to help support my amazing brother Ian Cowie or Coozer as he better known amongst close friends. 

My brother Ian is an amazing and selfless person through and through, he has a huge heart and nothing you need is ever too much. He is a father to gorgeous 5 year old daughter and loves her more than anything in this world, she truly is his pride and joy. He is extremely close to his family and has an amazing bond with his mother, Julie, who he adores. He has a great passion for anything music related and is an incredible DJ who’s made a name for himself in Aberdeen city for his amazing remix’s and house classics. He is extremely giving and would do anything for anyone but due to extremely unfortunate events that have transpired, it’s our turn to give back to him.

On either Wednesday night (6th of January) or Thursday morning (7th of January)  Ian suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage. The subarachnoid space is the area between the brain and the skull. When blood is released into this space the brain lining become irritated, pressure on the brain is increased severely and brain cells are damaged. The area of the brain is starved of oxygen-rich blood thus resulting in a stroke. After his haemorrhage Ian managed to crawl from the bathroom to his living room in an attempt to contact help but his body was too weak and the stroke he had suffered has left him paralysed in his left side. Many tried to contact Ian as he hadn’t replied to messages in days but due to Facebook saying he was active a lot of his friends and family just thought he was ignoring them or needing some space. Ian then faced three gruelling days alone in his flat, extremely cold, dehydrated and in absolute excruciating pain waiting for someone to come to his aid, we have no idea how he managed to stay strong enough to hold on but we are beyond grateful that he did. On the 9th of January our mother knew something was completely wrong as Ian wasn’t responding to her text messages or phone calls and her motherly instinct drove her to check on him. What she discovered was something no mother should have to see, her son in a near death state, in agony, extremely weak and clinging to life. Doctors have told us if our mother didn’t find him when she did he would’ve died. Ian was covered in bruises from falling after many attempts to try and pull himself up to get help and was covered in a clutter of objects that had fallen on top of him. He also had bruising from his body shutting down to protect his vital organs (muscle wastage) and hypothermia. Luckily he was conscious and still with us. At 23:33pm on the 9th of January Ian underwent surgery on his brain to help to drain blood and relieve the immense pressure cause by the aneurysm. We were told to prepare ourselves for the worst as his body was extremely weak, despite this he clung to life and battled through his three hour surgery. We were then told he would have to be put on a ventilator as he was struggling to breathe on his own. On the morning of the 10th doctors did not have much hope for Ian but he pulled through and began responding to small commands. As of today, January 11th Ian is off of his ventilator and breathing on his own, his brain still remains severely swollen and he may have to undergo another surgery to relieve more pressure. Short-term we really don’t know what to except and we are struggling to even think about long-term however, for Ian’s sake we need to start planning ahead. Currently all we definitively know is Ian is paralysed from his neck down on his left side and this alone will massively change the life he’s always known and will have a huge affect on everyday simple tasks we take for granted.

The money raised from this page will go towards making sure Ian has everything  and anything he needs once he is released from hospital which could be a year away due to the severity of his illness. Alone an electric wheelchair that will aid him being able to be semi-independent can cost up to a minimum of £5,000 and that’s not even including any care he may need or alterations to new accommodation he will be placed in after he is out of hospital. We are not asking for large donations, anything you can spare will go towards supporting Ian in anyway possible.

Although we are extremely lucky that Ian is even alive he is still not out of the woods yet and we are devastated that the life he knew will be forever changed. Any donations would be extremely appreciated and we as a family would be insanely grateful for any form of support you can give us. The last thing we want Ian to worry about is not having the amenities to look after himself or not having money for the care he will require. No one who suffers something so life changing should have to worry about anything other than getting themselves well again. It’s going to be a long time until Ian is fully well again and even then it will extremely hard for him to adjust to a new life.

Thank you so much to anyone who decides to donate to helping to supporting Ian, we are truly grateful and we know he will be too. Please feel free to share this on Facebook or any other social media platforms. Love from Ian’s family.