A determined Milton Keynes lady spent Saturday clocking up an impressive step count with an epic run along the Grand Union Canal.
Emma Webley started out here in the new city and travelled all the way to the River Thames in London!
She was inspired to take on the charity run after her teenage daughter experienced a sudden brain bleed in December 2021. What was first thought to be 'just food poisoning' quickly unfolded into a frightening medical emergency that changed their family’s lives.
“10.36am on Tuesday 14 December 2021 is etched on my brain,” Emma said, “I arrived at school to collect my daughter expecting a minor upset—yet she couldn’t speak, couldn’t coordinate her limbs and was repeatedly sick. We later learned she’d had a bleed on the brain. "It took two and a half years of worry, persistence and dead ends before we met Dr Joe Mole, whose insight helped us understand how brain injury and neurodiversity were affecting her learning and motivation. That support finally opened doors to the right assessments and educational help,” Emma explained.
“The run was my way of turning shock and frustration into something positive.”
Emma, who works as an Occupational Therapist and Brain Injury Case Manager, clocked up 109km to complete her fundraising journey, which has swelled funds for groundbreaking neurology research at UCL’s Institute of Neurology led by Dr Mole.
Dr Mole focuses on executive functions - the complex thinking skills that help us plan, problem-solve and stay motivated.
Difficulties in these skills affect up to two-thirds of people with neurological conditions, yet are often overlooked, leaving many with a ‘hidden disability’.
Dr Mole’s team has identified a brain network linked to executive abilities and developed new tests that are now being translated into clinical tools to improve diagnosis and treatment.
“People with executive functioning difficulties can’t always adjust plans or keep going when things get tough,” Emma added, “Training for this run has shown me what it takes to adapt, grit your teeth and carry on - exactly what many patients struggle with through no fault of their own. That’s why this research matters.”
If you would like to donate, visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/emma-webley-brain-injury-research?utm_medium=CR&utm_source=WA
