Please help support Robbie in this next chapter

Hi all, my name is Billie, I’m raising money for my partner of 9 years, Robbie.

Robbie is the type of person who can make light of most things and will always do his utmost to make you smile. He cares deeply though a lot of the time he’s afraid to show it, after losing his mum in 2015 and then his dad in 2023, he was only 30 by this time, it’s difficult for him to let people in and see how soft he really is. So after a rocky few months he was picking himself up and working towards starting a new career.

But on the 5th of January 2024, our world was turned upside down.

After a normal day at work I returned home to my nan and grandads, whom I was caring for at the time, and around 5pm I got a phone call that made my stomach drop, it was Robbie, his speech was slurred but I very clearly heard the fear in his voice, he told me he was on the floor and he didn’t know how he got there but he was unable to move, the last thing he told me was that he was scared and then silence. The next hour or 2 were a blur. I remember getting to the flat where my mum and his friend were standing at the side of the road while Robbie was being intubated and sedated on the street to help save his life. It’s an image that will never leave me.

Robbie was quickly blue lit to The Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton where we met his family, we were soon told that Robbie had sustained a massive bleed on the brain and that if they didn’t operate we would lose him, they also prepared us for the worst due to how severe the bleed was. In all honesty, I don’t remember much between that conversation and the moment we were told they’d finished the surgery and he was on ICU, time seemed to stand still. All I really remember is the feeling I had in my chest, like someone was squeezing my heart and I couldn’t get the air to my lungs, it took a long time before that feeling went away for a lot of us.

It was touch and go for over a month, we were being warned that Robbie may never regain consciousness, never be able to speak, never be able to move, that this may be as “good as he gets”. Robbie was struggling to regain consciousness after the induced coma and his body was weak and he was suffering from storming, where the nervous system struggles to regulate after a brain injury, it left him with uncontrollable shaking all over and constant sweating from head to toe for weeks before they finally got it under control. At which point, on February 21st Robbie was moved from ICU to another ward, luckily his breathing had remained strong and he no longer required one on one 24 hour monitoring. It was this week when everything started to look up, when he was moved Robbie still hadn’t regained consciousness, his eyes had started to open but he wasn’t showing any signs of being conscious other than his half opened eyes occasionally following the sound of my voice.

However, the following week Robbie’s eyes were very clearly open, he was looking at people when they spoke and it was clear he was trying to follow conversation, the day he first smiled I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, a few days later he laughed for the first time and again I flitted around with excitement. From then it was all about firsts, the first time he used the fingers on his right hand to reach for mine, the first time he put his thumb up for yes, the first time he lifted his right arm and wiggled the toes on his right foot.

So we come to today, Robbie is making small improvements but it’s a long road, he currently resides in a Neuro-rehabilitation ward where the team work tirelessly to help Robbie with his mobility, his speech, his eating and drinking. The bleed on the brain has caused damage to both sides of his brain, unfortunately he doesn’t have a great understanding of his limitations at the moment but from what we were told in January, the change is incredible. He still has his sense of humour, he’s cheeky, he’s stubborn and mate he is gagging for a burger (we have to keep telling him all in good time).

Robbie still has a long way to go, he currently has no use of his left side, limited movement on his right leg and reduced functional use of his right arm and relies on the support of 2 carers. It’s going to be a long road but one we are thankful he is now on.

It will be a while before Robbie is able to come home to us but that is the goal.

So what I am asking for is help to make that end goal more attainable, at the moment it is very likely Robbie will need some level of care for the rest of his life, he will need equipment and adaptations to support him living at home with me, to have some independence he is going to required a wheelchair, the aim is to get his using a powder wheelchair, unfortunately we will have to move as our current home is a first floor flat, which in itself is difficult to leave as it was Robbie’s home with his mum before she passed. As an OTA I have a some insight into things that will help Robbie at home but understand the limitations of the services available to him, there is only so much social services and the NHS can provide.

I know times are tough for us all so any funds raised will be greatly appreciated. I thank you all for taking the time to read this and your generosity and support at this difficult time. I would also like to take a moment to thank the team and those who have cared for Robbie up to this point at both his current hospital and from the Royal Sussex, without you Robbie would not be here and we are eternally grateful that you helped fight for him when he couldn’t. No words will ever be enough.

Life has taught many lessons but this has been the hardest, you really never know what is going to happen. As a warning to those of you who suffer with high blood pressure, it doesn’t matter how old you are! Please follow the guidance of your GP and don’t take your health for granted!

I will keep you updated as often as I can, thank you.