Hythe man tells others with brain injuries 'never lose hope'

Ben Bourne is urging others with brain injuries to "never lose hope"

A man who survived after falling from a second-storey window has said there is life after a traumatic brain injury.

Ben Bourne from Hythe, Hampshire, tumbled 20ft (6m) from a building in July 2019, after drunkenly mistaking a window for a door.

The 27-year-old was rushed to hospital and placed in an induced coma, but struggled to form sentences for months after the accident.

Four years on, he is urging others with brain injuries to "never lose hope".

Mr Bourne had difficulty forming sentences and finding words because of his brain injury

He said on 21 July 2019 celebrations were in full-swing for a friend's birthday in Saint Erth, Cornwall.

But around 03:00 BST, after too much to drink and with raging heatstroke, Mr Bourne fell from a window in the house he was staying in.

The circumstances around the accident are still a mystery.

"I don't remember anything and no one was around to see it, but I reckon I got confused and thought a window was a door and just tried to walk through it," he said.

Awoken by a loud thud and realising he was missing from their bed, his then-girlfriend Steph dashed downstairs and discovered Mr Bourne unconscious, with blood running from his ears and nose.

He was rushed to Treliske Hospital in Truro where doctors found he had a bleed on the brain from the impact, as well as shattered bones down the left side of his body.

Mr Bourne and his friend Charlie Ryde completed a fundraising cycle earlier this week

Mr Bourne was moved to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, which has the largest neurology unit in the peninsula, and was put in an induced coma for two weeks in a desperate attempt to salvage his brain.

"My family were all in massive shock because you just never expect something like this to happen," he said.

When doctors were happy he was stable, he was transferred to Somerset Neurological Rehabilitation Centre, where he stayed for five months.

He said: "I couldn't find words... it's really hard to describe but it's like the words were jumbled in my head and I was so confused for ages.

"The speech therapist would show me a picture of a lion and ask me what it was - and I knew what it was but I just didn't have the right word."

'Completely recovered'

Mr Bourne said he struggled with fatigue and memory problems, and at times was not sure he would make it, but is thankful he persevered.

"It wasn't easy and you have to trust the process... but medically-speaking I'm now completely recovered."

He said he hoped to show others recovering from traumatic brain injuries that "life carries on".

A lover of the sea, the 27-year-old went back to university after his injury, received a first class degree in Maritime Management and secured a job as a Dock Master in Ocean Village, Southampton.

Mr Bourne also popped the question to his girlfriend Steph. The pair have been married for two years and recently bought their first house.

"She stood by me when I was recovering, she was unbelievable," he said.

Mr Bourne and his fiancé Steph tied the knot in July 2021

In researching tips to aid his recovery, Mr Bourne discovered the health benefits of cycling.

On Tuesday he rode 160 miles (257km) from the site of his fall in Cornwall to Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, to raise money for Headway, the charity that supported him.

"They help people with brain injuries and their families, and I guess I just really wanted to say thank you," he added.

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