A Leicester family have raised £1,000 by running a half marathon to give thanks for a man’s rehabilitation from a severe head injury.

Steve Taylor suffered a traumatic head injury while on a night out three years ago. He was in hospital for a month, but then opted for home treatment instead of a rehabilitation stay.

The home treatment was provided by Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust’s Community Integrated Neurology and Stroke Service.

In recognition, Steve’s wife Lana and daughter Kaytlin each ran the Windsor half marathon, and raised £1,000 in sponsorship which they have handed to LPT’s in-house charity, Raising Health.

Lana said: “We got all of our support from the CINSS team and it meant so much to us we wanted to show our appreciation by doing a ‘little” run for them.”

She said she hadn’t done any serious running in the previous ten years, and it was her daughter’s longest race. They were also accompanied on the run by Kaytlin’s boyfriend Joe.

Lana added: “It was very difficult, but we did it.”

Following his traumatic head injury in 2023, Steve spent four weeks in hospital. He was keen to get home as soon as possible, and was put into the care of his wife and the CINSS team.

Lana said: “It was quite intense, but having that lifeline of the team on the end of the phone was incredibly reassuring for me.

“They made us feel supported and safe, instead of lost and lonely like we were in hospital. They never made us feel rushed. Whenever I called them, there was always someone available to speak to me that day. They have been brilliant.”

Staff from CINSS helped Steve get back to driving, taught him how to cross the road safely, and even helped him pick up the skills he needed in his new workplace. They also advised his family on how to maximise opportunities for Steve to interact with family and friends, and how to adapt to his new concentration levels.

Staff worked with Steve to help him master basic tasks like making cheese-on-toast, and went to his new workplace to help him deal with his role there.

Steve: “The unit has been fantastic, every person I’ve met, they are a fantastic bunch. I just think they are brilliant people. Its them who have got me where I am now.”

Debbie Blaze, clinical, operations and transformation lead for the CINSS team, said: “It was a pleasant surprise to receive the generous donation from Steve and Lana and really appreciated. It was humbling to hear the story about Steve’s rehabilitation journey and the experience of the whole family.

“I am incredibly proud of the patient-centred, coordinated and caring offer the neuropsychologist, occupational therapist and technical instructor provided, enabling Steve to return to work, return to driving and functional activities, manage his fatigue and improve his cognitive functioning alongside whole family psychological input supporting his independence and quality of life.

“A big ‘Thank-you’ to Steve, Lana, Kaytlin and Joe for sharing your story and raising the money. The whole service will benefit from this and are really appreciative.”

Magda Korytkowska, LPT’s fundraising manager, said: “Stories like Steve’s are the essence of the work we do at Raising Health, the registered charity of LPT. We are very grateful for this generosity, and we look forward to working with the CINSS team to use the funds towards the project which goes above and beyond the NHS core funding. Dedication which is clearly seen within the team ensures that together we will be able to make impact to other patients like Steve and their loved ones.”

If you plan to complete a challenge yourself this year, please consider choosing Raising Health as your charity. We work alongside all services across LPT enhancing the work they do. To read more about what we do please visit our webpage and learn about the impact we make: https://www.raisinghealth.org.uk/ .