I suffered a severe traumatic brain injury on my twenty-first birthday, now over 13 years on I have great pleasure in writing a blog for Acquired Minds. 2018, started in the worst possible way, on the 28th January my father died, an extremely short and unexpected illness that had taken dad too soon. A father and son business, Dad established Flus4u upon my injury and around my hospital bed. Somewhat reactively it had to be adapted overnight, continuing his legacy. Now, at the forefront of the business with the help of my older brother who assists when 2 people are needed, Flus4u is still a family business. Dad was buried in February and ashes scattered at Cheltenham Racecourse, a firm favourite with all the family. In May this year I asked my girlfriends hand in marriage, having said yes plans are in full flow for the wedding in April 2019. We enjoyed a holiday to Lake Garda, Italy, somewhere I’ve never been before. Outside of these monumental events I have mainly concentrated my time and effort in Flus4u, making it a continued success. OCTOBER 2018 A busy month brought about a turn in work for Flus4u, installations of new wood burning and multi-fuel stoves took off as the nights started to draw in and the cold weather began to bite. On Saturday 6th October, 6 friends and I played FootGolf, something I’ve never done before, I was totallyembarrassed considering I hadn’t kicked a ball in 15+ years! It rained hard so we got thoroughly wet but it was good fun and worth doing, next time it would be better in the dry! We have continued with our wedding plans and met with the florist on the 13th, the wheels are in motion and every aspect is being thought of and planned for. I have continued with my running, attending the local gym every week, the running club on a Wednesday night and ‘bootcamp’ on a Thursday. It has culminated in the completion of five 10km runs, a 10 mile run raising money and awareness for Headway, and completing the Virtual Lands End to John O’Groats. On the 14th of October I competed in my 5th 10km run of 2018, recording a seasonal best time of 45.05 minutes. The 23rd October would have been Dads birthday, I spent it with a brother installing a stove, working in honour of our ‘rock’. There was horseracing at Cheltenham on the 26th and 27th, this is where we scattered Dads ashes so went to these and said ‘hello’. An emotional weekend finished with a family Sunday roast at the local pub for his birthday. October was a busy month, but like each other in 2018, I’vebeen getting used to the new normal without Dad and business partner, one that won’t be forgotten, but celebrated for the life I live today. Read the real life story of Hugh; The New Me; My Journey Back From Traumatic Brain Injury.

Hey guys... First off, a major thanks is in order to AcquiredMinds’ co-founder Kane baker who has completely re designed our website, making it engaging, attractive and most importantly a lot more user friendly. Secondly, I am pleased to be addressing you on November 1st our official relaunch date! Okay, so what’s been happening with me? Well, since finishing my masters, (see pic below) I’ve rejoined the gym, working with my personal trainer, Dave Flowers. Dave is a fantastic coach and more importantly a great mate. His rates are incredibly competitive, and I’d wholeheartedly recommend him to anyone, be it disabled or not. This is in order to keep me supple, as well as gain some muscle!💪🏻 this is all done a The armoury gym, Brislington. (See below) I’ve found the staff there extremely helpful, and the rates there, like Dave himself are very good. I’m also currently working on a cv. This is a hopeful attempt towards going into the world of work. This will obviously be a challenge due to my masters ongoing symptoms. Please see more info on the about page. These will obviously mean that any work type environment will have to be tailored to my needs, however I’m confident I’ll find something, somewhere!! My family has continued to give huge support in this transitional period in my life, below is a picture of me with my mum and sisiter, at whitchurch cricket clubs annual dinner. I’m also pleased to announce that whitchurch cricket club raised an impressive £456.50 at their summer fest event. In other fundraising news: a huge thank you to Janice sharp and susie moray, who raised £337.40 as a quiz! Really appreciate that!! We were also deeply saddened by the news of the death of Chris cooper. Chris was one of the nicest guys one could meet, and we like his whole family were devastated by his passing. We were honoured to be chosen as the cause for Chris’s funeral, where they raised an immense £561.74 He will be greatly missed. I have also began or re began speech therapy at southmead hospital. My speech is something I struggle with, due to the area of damage in my brain. Every injury is different, meaning that every person affected will be different. It’s my job at AcquiredMinds to recognise this, and therefore to make every person feel appreciated. Many thanks, and stay strong, lloydy. 💙💛

Last week, I finished and submitted my MA dissertation. Ask me anything about how you can get back into education with brain injury :)