Kilo Mike Support Required x

Lee Batten has been working at The Mount for 28 years and in July 2022 became very poorly. This has resulted in Lee being unable to work and struggling to adjust with his life-changing injuries. I think we can all say Lee is a one-in-a-million gentleman, a friend, a team player, a lego builder and has very quick-witted humour.

The page has been created as Lee needs life-changing equipment, treatment and equipment to not only make him more comfortable but to help him lead a happier and fulfilled life.

Please take the time to read the below which Angela (Lee's wife) has written.

Hi my name is Angela, I live in Hemel Hempstead with my husband Lee and daughter Bella.

Last year my husband Lee came home from work and collapsed in the evening with chest pains. He was blue-lighted to hospital where he underwent a lifesaving open heart surgery at Harefield hospital. They repaired his Aorta and replaced a heart valve. However, after surgery Lee would not wake up, they discovered Lee had suffered a large stroke on the right side of his brain.

Lee remained in a coma, we watched every day hoping that day would be the day he woke, and 4 weeks later he did. Lee remained in hospital for another 25 weeks after that.

It’s a miracle Lee is with us today, he truly did defy all the odds. When he woke from the coma he started talking, moving and eating again, although this took time. The stroke however has left Lee paralysed down the left side of his body, he has poor peripheral vision and problems with the cognitive part of his brain.

The care he received in the hospital and rehabilitation clinic was brilliant. But since coming home the aftercare has been poor and Lee took a step back.

Lee came home just before Christmas in 2022. We've had multiple problems with getting his equipment. We are still waiting for his wheelchair! After 14 weeks of being home. We've only managed to get him out of the house once (in a borrowed wheelchair), due to the front access of our house being too small.

So Lee has been housebound and pretty much bed bound as he requires a hoist to lift him but since there no wheelchair he remains in bed. Lee has recently started having physio after a long wait but the NHS will only allow for 6 weeks. So all of the progress he's made will be lost and we have to reapply for funding. Lee has carers four times a day to meet his basic needs.

This has had a big impact on our family life. Lee is living in our lounge which is small. I've had to give up my florist business as I am now Lees's carer, nurse and physio as well as a wife and mother. Our 8-year-old daughter has very little space to play or to have friends around. Lee needs 24-hour care so he can't be alone which is restricting on him and us, we are lucky family help to sit with Lee when I need to go out. Our house isn't a home anymore, especially our lounge, what with all of Lees's equipment and with carers coming and going, it's like a hospital room.

We miss going out as a family, be it just going for a walk or going to see friends and family together.

Hopefully, in time, we will get Lee more physio and a wheelchair. Then move house and get a mobility vehicle so we can enjoy more family days out together.

We as a family are touched a Gofund page has been set up, grateful. We need to adapt the front entrance so that it's easier to take Lee out. We also need to get a mobility vehicle so we can take Lee out for his appointments or a day out as a family. It will be greatly appreciated for any donations towards this. It will really make a big difference to Lees's mental and physical health and will help us to enjoy doing things as a family again.

The Journey Lee and his family are on is far from over, any fundraising you or a team do, will greatly help support the Batten family.

We wish you all luck in raising any funds to support Lee's future.

Thanks

Leanne Smith