Gavin Hunt

Thanks for visiting the fundraising page for my brother in law Gavin.

Tarryn is Gav's wife, on 30th September after just dropping off Remi, their 10 month old daughter, for a settling in session at nursery she received a phone call that all of us would dread. Gav had had an accident at work and been taken by ambulance to hospital after "cutting his head". After rushing to get there she found out the truth was much worse. Gav was on a back board with his head in blocks. The ambulance was actually a helicopter that had airlifted him in. He had broken his neck.

Gav is a carpenter, whilst working on a barn conversion he had fallen 15 feet through the ceiling and onto the concrete floor. Along with the bilateral fractures to his C1 he had partially scalped himself. It was remarkable he was alive and without even more injuries.

In many ways Gav was lucky, he was able to go home with lots of adjustments to the house and he did not sustain any brain injuries. However he now requires a neck brace and is housebound for the forseeable future. He is still waiting for aftercare and physio to commence but so far there has not been any follow up for his injuries.

It's not know how long it will be for Gav to be able to work again. He cannot drive. He can't fit into the small family car as he can't bend his neck.

Gav is self employed and does not have any income coming in to see him though his recovery. With Tarryn being on maternity leave, and in the current financial climate one of the short term cuts they had made to the family expenses was to Gav's insurance. They were two weeks away from Tarryn returing to work and coverage being reinstated when the accident occured. Tarryn has returned to work full time but her salary alone cannot cover the house expenses and Remi's nursery fees.

It's Remi's first birthday next week. With Christmas so soon afterwards, finances are becoming a signficant concern and one Gav doesn't need to be focussing on whilst trying to recover. As it stands the family doesn't even have a tree or decorations for their daughter's first proper Christmas.

They are looking into Government financial support to see Gav through this unknown recovery time but have been told it will be up to 8 weeks for a reply to confirm if he is eligible.

And just to add one more layer, it's Gav's 40th birthday on 10th January.

Gav is a hard working, active husband and father. He very literally cannot have any weight on his shoulders at the moment and any support we can offer him at this time will be massively appreciated in easing the financial pressure and allowing him to focus on recovery.