We are so proud and excited to announce that Mandy Fallon who is a great friend and supporter of our charity has decided to take on the Manchester Marathon to raise funds for After Matters! The event takes place on Sunday 16th April 2023 and Mandy has been in fierce training to get herself ready for the big day!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ONGOING SUPPORT MANDY & GOOD LUCK FOR THE DAY!
Pictured above are Mandy on her many training sessions with her running buddies Kie & Ben Leech, Carmen and Hayley.
Mandy has been a huge support to the fundraising actvities we do at After Matters and she has very bravely decided to take on the 26.2 mile challenge to raise funds for our charity.
Mandy shares her own story below of why she has decided to take on this huge challenge…
On the 16th April I will be attempting to complete my first, and almost definitely my last Marathon in Manchester!
Winter training has been cold, dark and miserable, but knowing I’m going to try and raise awareness and (hopefully) much needed funds for After Matters is keeping me going!
Many of you already know of this incredible charity, which was set up my friend Maxine Hayden and my best friend Louise Bird following their son’s traumatic brain injuries (TBI).
However they are not alone in their fight for help and support for young people who suffer from TBI or ABI (acquired brain injury).
A brain injury is any injury to the brain that affects a person physically, emotionally or behaviorally and they can be caused by a fall, motor vehicle accicent, assault, stroke, tumour, infection, or other illness such as cancer.
Sadly there is still such little support for young adults in their fight to get basic help, be that medically, emotionally or basic understanding.
Some facts I found below highlight the importance of the work brain injury charities such as After Matters do to help young survivors:
There were 356,699 UK admissions to hospital with acquired brain injury in 2019-20. This is a 12% increase since 2005-6.
ABI admissions in the UK have increased by 12% since 2005-6
There were approximately 977 ABI admissions per day to UK hospitals in 2019-20 – or one every 90 seconds.
In 2019-20, males were 1.5x more likely than females to be admitted for a head injury.
In 2019-20, female head injuries were up 28% since 2005-6.
In 2019-20, there were 137,403 admissions for stroke. This is a 14% increase since 2005-6.
After Matters are trying to bridge that gap, and all funds kindly donated will go towards giving young people and their families the help they so desperately deserve….and knowing this will really help to motivate me to get over the finish line on the day!
