Help Leigh Walker get talking again

This campaign is to raise much needed funds to pay for the continuation of speech & language therapy which costs between $170-$200 per hour (+ initial assessment fees), $10,000 (£5,600 pounds) would pay for 50-58 hours, which is approx 4 months therapy. Leigh has a severe speech impairment, causing difficulty with verbal communication. Every day we practice his name, his DOB, where we live, the names of his family & friends, common household objects & general daily activities. He also has short term memory loss & each day he needs reminding of the date, his daily plan, his home address & the triple zero number in case of emergency etc. In addition Leigh is unable to read more than a few words at a time due to comprehension & fatigue & is unable to write or text freely, requiring verbal/visual prompts  or copies written words. This on going therapy will make a huge difference to Leigh's recovery & hopefully lead to him returning to work. This is his story... Leigh & I (Mandi) moved to Adelaide, from the UK in Feb 2014. We absolutely love our life here & prior to this event we spent much of our free time exploring this great country, increasing our love of 4 wheel driving, camping & everything outdoors. However, in less time that it takes to read this story our lives were instantly & dramatically transformed & the hearts of his family & friends broken. After a spontaneous seizure in Sept 2017 we was told Leigh had a probable benign brain tumour. He was scheduled for surgery, but whilst waiting the tumour grew & burst, resulting in a huge brain haemorrhage whilst on holidays in Fiji. Comatose & with only hours to live, Leigh was returned to Brisbane via emergency medical evacuation on Christmas Eve & on Christmas Day he had brain surgery to remove the tumour & damaged vessels. Consequently Leigh suffered a full right side hemiplegia, loss of speech, decreased sight in his right eye, loss of vision in his left, impaired cognition & short term memory loss. He couldn't eat & was fed via a nasal feeding tube, he needed help with each & every activity of daily living with no insight to what had happened. Leigh awoke on Dec 27th & from there we began a life forever changed, but not without love, hope & gratitude. On New Year's Day Leigh was able to breathe independently & was taken off ventilation. He spent a further 2 weeks on a Neurosurgical ward awaiting him to become stable for transfer back home to Adelaide. During this time the histology results revealed that the tumour was indeed a rare malignant cancer, though gratefully it hadn't spread, it still required further treatment. Once back in Adelaide Leigh endured 6 weeks of radiotherapy to the brain & resided in a specialised brain injury rehabilitation unit for 5 months & 2 weeks, receiving intensive physiotherapy, speech & language therapy, hydrotherapy & occupational therapy. Leigh finally returned home on June 15th. In true Leigh Walker nature, throughout this turbulent journey, he has being unsurprisingly strong, tenacious & completely devoted to reclaiming his independence, manage his losses & courageously accept his new world. To his credit & relentless dedication, Leigh has made an impeccable recovery. He has regained his physical health & former strength, his vision in his left eye, cognition, speech, reading & writing all continue to improve. Remaining as focussed as ever, Leigh is still attending a community rehabilitation programme where he receives physical & speech therapy 5 days a week. However, due to Leigh not being a permanent resident of Australia, his rehab will cease at the end of Dec 2018. In addition Leigh is not entitled to any financial support from the government or services provided by the National Disability Insurance Scheme, therefore we have to fund all his rehab needs privately.  Leigh's goals include the return to some form of normality, return to driving, return to work, return to his hobbies, return to renovating our house, return to saying his family & friends names & telling them he that he loves them, return to shopping independently...
This fundraising appeal is to enable Leigh to reach these goals. To help Leigh to continue his rehabilitation journey. It will fund private speech therapy & potentially look into further brain therapies such as neurofeedback which is known to improve behavioural performance, memory & attention.  Our goal seems huge, but be assured all proceeds will be used for rehab/medical needs only. Every $/£ raised will make a significant difference. All donations no matter how big or small will help Leigh rebuild his future & get back to the life loving guy we all know & love. On behalf of Leigh we thank each & everyone of you for your time to read this appeal & for your kindness xXx