“I just want to say thank you to the brilliant team at Thompson House Hospital who have been amazing.” These are the heartfelt words of mum Christine Murray whose 26-year-old daughter Karen suffered a devastating brain injury following a serious road traffic collision in July 2018.
March marks Brain Injury Awareness Month which provides an opportunity to highlight the resilience and strength shown by individuals and families facing the challenges of a brain injury and showcase the Multi-Disciplinary Teams who work and support families behind the scenes.
Christine recalled how Karen had been celebrating her 20th birthday when the collision took place. “Karen was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital and when we got there we were told how she was in a coma and had suffered a bad bleed to her brain.”
“The surgeons had to remove the bone flap on the left side of Karen’s skull to release pressure on her brain. We actually lost Karen on the table at that stage and it was down to just four litres of blood at that time that saved her life. It was very touch and go,” said Christine.
Christine reflected how during Karen’s time spent in ICU, “They weren’t going by days, they were going by hours with Karen, we couldn’t get any response from Karen for a long, long time.”
An ardent Westlife fan, Christine described how the family decided to try some music while Karen was in the ICU. “Westlife are Karen’s favourite band and her all time number one song is their ‘Queen of My Heart’, we played it and Karen’s two eyes opened.”
Karen was transferred from the Royal Victoria Hospital to Musgrave Park Hospital and after a period of stay came to the South Eastern Trust’s Thompson House Hospital which provides post-acute assessment/rehabilitation to adult patients, with an Acquired Brain Injury or Complex Neuro Disability.
Christine described how she could not visit Karen for 17 weeks in the Thompson House setting due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The team at Thompson House, especially Karen’s Occupational Therapist at that time, Victoria Quinn and her team, were doing brilliant work with Karen. Up until this time Karen had been PEG fed, allowing her to get the required nutrients into her system. It was in Thompson House that Karen began having ‘tasters’ which was thickened juice on a spoon, these were slowly introduced and honestly Karen thought all her Christmases had come at once!”
Having been apart from her daughter for a number of months, when lock down restrictions eased, Christine was allowed to visit Karen again and she noticed positive and encouraging improvements in her movement and speech. “Karen was actually able to give me a hug.”
Christine spoke poignantly of how Thompson House is more than, “just a hospital.”
“Karen is in a nursing home setting at the minute, but we still come to Thompson House for physiotherapy. Through the work of the team, Karen can now wash her own face, she does her own lip balm and can lift her arms to help put on her nightdress and her tops. Karen has captured so many hearts along the way.”
The immeasurable bond between mother and daughter is evident to all who have the pleasure of spending time with Christine and Karen as they communicate with one another. Christine added, “At the time of Karen’s accident, the doctors had to give you the worst case scenario, but there is life after this. Karen is a very determined, very stubborn wee girl who has always wanted to go that step forward. When her PEG came out, we had a ‘PEG out party’. One thing people will say when they meet Karen is that she always has a smile on her face.”
