'There’s hope for all brain injury survivors'

Amy Rimes “lost a massive part of her identity” after being diagnosed with MS and discovering a lesion on her frontal lobe

A former nurse said she spent months not knowing where to find support after developing a brain injury in 2021.

Amy Rimes, from Cheddleton in Staffordshire, now champions the help she eventually found at a charity in Cobridge and wants other survivors to use the services.

Headway North Staffordshire is dedicated to supporting people like Amy, who have suffered a brain injury.

"I loved it. I thrived on coming. It's a great environment," she said.

Amy was a mental health nurse at Dovegate prison after spending 18 years working for Cheshire & Wirral Partnership NHS Trust.

Then in 2021, a CT scan revealed she had MS neurological abnormalities and a lesion on her brain.

Having had the diagnosis, the next steps were unclear, even for a qualified nurse.

• Hear Amy Rimes talk about the charity that helped her

Headway operations manager, Darren Atkinson, picture second left, with the training kitchen team

"I don't think I functioned very well for the first six months. I think I just slept," she said.

Fortunately, in a hospital waiting room, she saw a poster for Headway.

"I was desperate for anything at this point," she said.

Amy got in touch and was offered counselling and physiotherapy.

"There are things there but we shouldn't be left to find them ourselves," she said.

'Success stories'

The facilities at Headway North Staffordshire on Elder Street include a rehabilitation gym, day centre café, woodwork room, speech and language sessions and counselling support.

"We try and cover a bit of everything," says Headway's Darren Atkinson. "We've got loads of success stories where people have come to us written off and we've managed to get them back to a good level."

This facility reaches 108 regular members and more within their outreach programmes but, like Amy, Darren worries there are patients who "slip through the net."

"A lot of people don't even know we are here, that's the sad thing."

In the gym, people relearn to walk, build muscle or lose weight

Within the gym, people learn to walk again, build up muscle or lose weight.

"There's quite a tight timeframe where we can give them the best treatment possible.

"The longer that wait is, the harder it is to get them back to a suitable level."

After years in the health service, Amy still has the passion to help people and this is her new cause.

"It's something I think people need to know more about," she said.

Her daughter Lilly is also getting involved.

Having witnessed the care the charity gave her mum, the 17-year-old is now studying health and social care and is getting work experience at Headway.