In 2014, Jonny's life took an unexpected turn when he suffered a severe brain bleed while serving as an Officer in the British Army. A cavernous malformation left him completely paralysed on his left side from the neck down.
However, Jonny's story is far from a tale of defeat. After two and a half years of intensive rehabilitation, he emerged as a formidable para-cross country skier, representing Great Britain in multiple World Cups from 2016 to 2019. His determination earned him a spot on the Paralympic Inspiration Programme, taking him to the Winter Paralympics in PyeongChang in 2018.
Despite not qualifying for the 2022 Winter Paralympics, Jonny embarked on a series of groundbreaking expeditions. In 2021, he was part of the first team of adaptive athletes to kayak from Land's End to John O'Groats. In 2022, he became the first disabled person to run the South West Coast Path in the UK. Now, he is attempting an unprecedented feat: to become the first disabled person to ski solo and unsupported from the Inner Coastline of Antarctica to the South Pole.
Jonny's unwavering belief that disability does not equate to inability drives him forward. Through hard work, dedication, and meticulous preparation, he demonstrates that great achievements are possible regardless of personal circumstances.
It's a huge privilege to showcase what is possible post-stroke, and hopefully help others to recover and embrace life after injury.
His journey is a testament to the power of resilience and the human spirit.
Follow Jonny on Instagram: @jonnyhuntington
Jonny's website
In 2011, Scott suffered a traumatic brain injury after falling from 40 feet.
Along with the brain injury, he also fractured his cheek bones, had multiple cracked ribs, a punctured lung, a broken hand and a fractured coccyx. When he was admitted to hospital, he was put in an induced coma and his parents and girlfriend were told that if he survived, he would be in an inpatient facility for at least two years.
Scott says: "When I finally woke, I had lost the ability to walk, read, talk and my memory was limited to me as a 16 year-old.
"I stayed for a brief period in a live-in facility, then my girlfriend left her job to become my full-time carer and I was able to come home. I was in hospital for little over 17 weeks before returning home to start cognitive rehabilitation. Although I had made what many considered a 'miracle' recovery and had completed rehab, I was told that with a TBI of my scale, I may not be able to return to work, will struggle with day-to-day tasks and need to come to terms with a very different life.
"13 years on, I am married to the girl who stood by me through the dark times and we have a daughter together. I have studied part-time to become a Chartered Quantity Surveyor, achieved a professional membership Chartership and I am also a mental health Ambassador for LionHeart (a charity that supports surveyors and their families in times of need)."
Read Scott's return to work story
Follow Scott on Instagram: @scott_pearshouse
Jack is a collegiate NCAA Ice Hockey player and stroke survivor. He is a fierce competitor and dedicated leader, driven by a pursuit of pushing the limits to overcome difficult challenges and a strong sense of purpose to help others.
Using his own life experiences, he provides inspiration and insights on the importance of mentality to those going through adversity. As an undergrad of Exercise Science at Endicott College, he studies the human body and hopes to translate his knowledge to help people live healthier lives in body and mind. Since his stroke in the early months of 2022, he continues to spark conversations with doctors, therapists and other stroke survivors about advancements in the stroke recovery field.
Jack knows what it's like to seemingly have everything that makes you who you are stripped away in the blink of an eye. He recognises that it's not an easy battle, but would like to try to help others find a way through it, to help them find a way to keep moving forward while spreading overall awareness of brain injury and other neurological disorders.
Follow Jack on Instagram: @jacksmi1ey
Ben spent 5 life-changing years with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League venturing through a traumatic brain injury, leadership roles, winning CHL’s Humanitarian of The Year award in 2013 and NHL Camp with the New York Rangers (NHL). Ben has been public speaking since the age of 12.
In 2016, Ben began The Heroic Minds Podcast where he interviewed individuals with heroic life stories to uncover why the world is becoming increasingly vulnerable and what leads to resilience, courage and high-performance.
Today, Ben is a qualifying Psychotherapist and works with individuals from all demographics on over-coming challenges and increasing performance while also serving as the chief vision officer of Heroic Minds.
Ben Fanelli shares how the framework of heroism is not only an antidote to mental distress, it is also a framework that throughout history has allowed people to reach peak performance.
Follow Ben on Instagram: @Benfanelli_
Watch Ben's survivor story
Two times, Dancing on Ice star Alex Murphy was 24 years old when she had a stroke that left her unable to walk, talk and pursue her passion as a professional ice-skater. Alex has lived experience that our supporters identify with. She helps SameYou champion the cause and spread awareness for the need for change in rehabilitation care after a brain injury or stroke.
Follow Alex on Instagram
Chéri Ballinger, former model/actress and now film producer and entrepreneur, suffered a severe Traumatic Brain Injury in 2014 after a fall onto cement in an action scene on the set. Since her TBI on that day, her life has never been the same. Chéri’s recovery was full of challenges related to having female-specific symptoms that threw her doctors off.
Read Chéri's story here
After 25 years of being immersed in the fashion industry, Kavita found her mission – to be more ethical from design to production.
Then, she suddenly suffered a subarachnoid brain haemorrhage, a life-changing experience.
She had 4 brain operations and a second stroke, which led to having a shunt. She had to relearn basics, lost coordination, faced hearing deficiencies and vision and sound difficulties - her mind and body had a huge mental shift.
However, her purpose became very clear: to make a positive difference in the fashion industry, to be a role model to the next generation and help other neuro-diverse.
She released her first book ‘Room 23 Surviving a Brain Haemorrhage’ in November 2018 and her second book ’23 Ways to a Happier Life’ was released in May 2022.
She then went on to share her story and how to produce ethical fashion, educating others through her YouTube, Instagram videos, podcasting and speaking engagements.
Kavita has also become an Ambassador for 3 neuro charities - The Bee Foundation, Brain & Spine Foundation and SameYou.
Her company was born during Covid and holds multiple ethical fashion brands, built around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and now BCorp certified.
She donates a portion of the profits to brain injury charities.
She still experiences daily challenges so it’s important for her to support others and continue her mission of giving back by showing that even through such adversity, you can have some hope.
Follow Kavita on Instagram: @kavita_basi
After surviving a brainstem stroke with only a 25% chance of survival, Tymiak - or Ty - has defied the odds and embraced a journey of significant recovery and personal growth.
Through his experiences, he has developed a deep commitment to supporting others facing similar challenges. Ty is a loving husband, author, the founder of his own brand "2 The T" and content creator dedicated to inspiring and empowering individuals to overcome adversity and find strength within themselves.
He balances his advocacy work with a passion for sports (primarily basketball), traveling, fitness, games and food.
He is particularly passionate about advocating for brain injury awareness and resilience. Currently, he is focused on sparking conversations that bring awareness to stroke and brain injury, empowering others to share theirs, and ensuring that the community is seen, heard and loved.
Follow Ty on Instagram
Watch Ty on the short doco:"Reborn Decades Apart". Courtesy of #Strokeof Genius.
On January 9, 2018, Faith sustained a concussion and a traumatic brain injury when she was hit from behind in a motor vehicle accident on her way to work.
Life took a sudden turn and she knew she had to figure something out fast. That's when she decided to do one thing for herself every day to honor and nourish herself: write herself a self-care note. By sharing her content about mental health online and her personal healing journey, she has inspired over 305,000 people, and counting, via social media to choose introspection, gratitude and finding peace in things most take for granted.
Faith has almost 15 years of experience as a professional school counselor and mental health counselor and also worked as a baker and a food blogger, before shifting to writing inspirational affirmations on pieces of handmade paper following her brain injury, and publishing two guided journals on the transformative power of self-care and self-love.
Find out more about Faith here
I had a tremendous amount of help to clamber back up and return to a 'normal life'. If you do not have that help, maybe you are not able to stand back up. I try to share the compass NOT the Map, to help people navigate their way back to the SameYou. This is all rather simple, but NOT easy to do!
Read Dan's story here
More about Dan: https://www.macqueendan.com/
Follow Dan on Instagram: @macqueendan
Advocating for brain injury rehabilitation is important to me because my family has a history of brain aneurysms. I survived what many of my loved ones did not. It is important for me to spread awareness for prevention, but also bring attention to gaps in aftercare for those who may be impacted in the future.
Listen to Emily's meditation here
You may know Greg as the AVM Superhero on social media. After motivating a friend to move forward with life after a stroke, Greg realised he had the power to help others, carers and survivors. Once a month, he gives out a basket to caregivers and started an Instagram series called "Death Taught Us How to Live".
Read Greg's story here
Follow Greg on Instagram: @avm_superhero
Follow Greg on YouTube: avmsuperhero
Having access to better brain injury rehab is monumental towards the next part of a survivors' life. My brain injuries have changed my life and I would love these changes to be more positive for future generations.
Listen to Bella's podcast with Jenny here
Advocating for better brain injury rehabilitation is important to me because I believe everyone is far more capable than they realise and with the right support, tools and inspiration, it is possible for survivors to thrive and live their life to the fullest post injury.
Read Georgie's story here
Olivia Lewis is 25 years old and one of a handful of people on the planet to significantly recover from locked-in syndrome caused by a brainstem stroke. Locked-in syndrome is a rare neurological disorder that leaves cognition intact while paralyzing all muscles except for the ability to blink. Unable to move, breathe, speak, or swallow on her own— through a letter board, she spelled out carefully put together sentences with eye blinks. Day by day she made extremely small progress but through years of hard work, consistency, and dedication, the small progress began to slowly add up. Eventually, she achieved the seemingly impossible, defying all expectations--from moving a single finger to walking and talking again.
Olivia says: "Advocating for brain injury is important to me because it is critical to show others who are maneuvering their own journey to keep pushing forward, to never give up, and that recovery is possible."
Chiara was two years old and 10 months when she suffered a stroke from the chickenpox virus. This resulted in right hand side hemiplegia and severe dyslexia. She is not able to use her right hand arm at all and does day-to-day tasks one-handed. Raising awareness of stroke in young people is important to Chiara to support them in learning to live with a brain injury and disability. Chiara helps raise awareness through her YouTube channel and now as a SameYou Advocate.
Find out more about Chiara's work here
In 2005, Tim suffered a severe epileptic seizure and was eventually diagnosed with two benign brain tumours and a hypoxic brain injury. Following his brain injury, Tim faced various challenges with his mental health. Through his rehabilitation, he developed a strong passion for helping fellow brain injury survivors. He runs a number of support groups and he is a speaker at brain injury conferences.
Find out more about Tim's story here