Support for Sarah Bevan

Hi We are CHFT Medical Division Management Team, we are raising funds for our colleague Sarah Bevan. Sarah suffered a brain aneurysm on 15th August 2024. We are looking to support her husband Tom (also a colleague of ours) and young daughter Lilly who was only 11 weeks old when Sarah was taken ill.

Any funds raised will be used to support Sarah to get a more advanced wheelchair, support home adaptations when Sarah can return home, and to support the Rehabilitation Ward at Chapel Allerton that are providing excellent care and rehabilitation for Sarah.

Sarah's story

On the morning of the 15th August 2024 Sarah was taken to A&E at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary as she was unconscious. Upon arriving at A&E Sarah was triaged and had a CT scan that revealed she had suffered a brain aneurysm after which she was transferred to ICU at Leeds General Infirmary. We were told that the aneurysm had affected the left side of Sarah’s brain, thus effecting the right side of her body and that a Stent would be needed to stop the bleeding, and a drain would need to be put in to reduce the amount of fluid that was surrounding her brain. Both procedures were completed on the 15th August, and we were told they had gone well. However, three days later we were told to go to the hospital urgently. The doctors told us that Sarah had suffered a seizure on the morning of the 18th August and that this had resulted in significant brain swelling. We were told that there wasn’t anything that they could do and that they would do further tests but ultimately this injury had caused Sarah to require life support to help with her breathing and we would need to say our goodbyes to her the following day. All this happened eleven and a half weeks after Sarah and her husband Tom became parents for the first time. In less than four hours from the 14th August – 15th August theirs and the rest of the family’s worlds had been turned upside down.

Monday 19th August arrived and before getting to the hospital we received a call saying that Sarah had started breathing on her own and that the swelling had reduced enough for them to be able to do a craniectomy. This procedure went well and despite Sarah still being on a ventilator she had miraculously pulled through; however, we were told that Sarah would not be able to communicate, eat, drink or walk again.

This was the start of Sarah’s recovery.

During Sarah's time at Leeds General Infirmary she was transferred from ICU to a HDU where they took an MDT approach to her recovery which included Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy. During this time Sarah underwent further procedures. A tracheostomy was used to help with Sarahs breathing and despite many attempts to remove the drain a cranial shunt was deemed to be the best way to regulate the fluid that surrounded her brain. Sarah also had a feeding peg inserted that allowed her NG tube to be removed and after determining the shunt was doing its job Sarah underwent a Cranioplasty surgery to fit a titanium plate to her skull. Following these procedures the medics and therapists at Leeds General Infirmary confirmed rehabilitation was the next stage for Sarah and after many discussions it was concluded that Sarah would be an excellent candidate for Chapel Allerton, however we would need to wait for a bed to become available. Weeks went by and when the bed came up Sarah left Leeds General Infirmary certainly aware of her surroundings but unable to eat, drink, talk or move.

Sarah was transferred to Chapel Allerton Hospital on the 3rd December 2024 and the last seven months Sarah has progressed incredibly in her rehabilitation. Sarah is now communicating in small to medium sentences and is able to use her iPad to watch TV shows and make video calls to family. Sarahs left side is also getting stronger with each passing day and the Physiotherapy team are really working on getting her right leg stronger. Sarah is now able to stand during physio sessions and she is getting movement back in her right leg. Occupational therapy are working on day-to-day activities to improve Sarah’s quality of life and this has progressed to Sarah having joint sessions with Lily that focuses on them both doing activities together. Sarah has also gone from having all hydration, nutrition and medication administered through the feeding peg to eating, drinking, and taking her medication orally, thus removing the need for the peg at all which has now been removed. Although rehabilitation has been going on for the last seven months this really is incredibly early in her journey, however with Sarah’s strength, determination and courage she is getting one step closer to home each day. She has defied the odds and continues to do this with each goal she achieves.