Kevin's Story

At 11 years old, Kevin woke up one morning with an intense headache.

After going into the next room to see his Mum, he fell unconscious. It was discovered, while in hospital, that Kevin had a bleed on the brain and a brain tumour affecting his memory. He first remembers waking up over 6 weeks later to his aunty getting a party ready in celebration he was alive. Kevin had to take two years out of school for his recovery and had to learn to read and write again.

As a result of finding the tumour, Kevin underwent radiotherapy to shrink the tumour, which was a success. Unfortunately, the radiotherapy effected Kevin’s pituitary gland which is part of the brain that controls hormone production. This led to problems with his metabolism which then led to excessive weight gain and prolonged puberty, which in turn caused a lot more problems for Kevin. The excessive weight gain contributed to Kevin’s other health problems, including diabetes and oedema. When Kevin was 35, after slowly losing function of his right hand, Kevin had an MRI. The MRI told him that some of his brain cells had died. The next day Kevin had a stroke.

Even after all of this, Kevin still battled on, and his incredible strength shines through every day. Kevin started coming to Oxford Head Injury services in 2017, which Kevin says did wonders for him. It encouraged him to find himself again and find the motivation to carry on. Since Kevin has started coming to OHIS, he has lost an amazing 12 stone in weight, with regular visits to the gym. He says it has turned his life around. Kevin now has much more confidence in himself and has transformed the way he looks at life. He has discovered a love for art, a hobby which Kevin forgot he loved and unlocked skills he didn’t know he had.

Sadly, Kevin lost his mum to a stroke several years ago, which left a huge hole in his heart. Not only was she a loving supportive mother, but also a friend. Finding a place where you feel accepted and not judged has been a great support and comfort, Kevin has said that OHIS has done just that, been supportive and non-judgemental and a place where he feels safe. He says: “OHIS is one big family”.