Luke is beating the odds after recovering from brain injury

Luke Siner was rushed to The Walton Centre in July last year after sustaining a massive brain injury in Liverpool. The 23 year old had emergency surgery, which resulted in having a third of his skull removed to accommodate the swelling in his brain. Now fitted with a titanium metal plate, Luke has made an almost full recovery.

Luke said: “After the initial surgery I was in a coma for a week. It was scary for my family at the time, as the outlook was not very good at all. My consultant told them to prepare for the worst if I didn’t wake up.”

But Luke did wake up and, with rehabilitation provided by The Walton Centre’s expert team of therapists, was able to walk out of the hospital with no physical disabilities.

“The nurses kept saying they’d not seen anything like it” Luke continued, “because the swelling of my brain had been so big, they were worried about how that would influence my recovery. At first it was thought I would be severely disabled and would have to have care for the rest of my life.”

Luke needed a further operation, after which the swelling subsided and he continued to recover. He said: “I continued to recover, and started regaining skills like speaking and walking. With the help of the occupational therapists and physiotherapists I was able to regain my physical abilities over my two month stay in hospital.”

After moving from the high dependency unit to a ward, Luke needed around the clock care.

“I couldn’t fault the nurses and health care assistants for their care and dedication to getting me better. Especially in the middle of the pandemic, they helped my friends and family keep in touch, playing me voice messages which my sister Ashleigh sent. They even brought me DVDs and other things I liked because I couldn’t leave the ward.” said Luke.   

His sister Ashleigh, who stayed in touch and visited when restrictions allowed, said: “It’s been incredible to see how much of a fighter Luke has been through this. He’s beat the odds at every obstacle so far and it was great to bring him home two months after the injury. I remember the clinical teams at the time being amazed at how well he’d recovered and our consultant Miss McMahon was excellent at explaining what was happening and keeping us informed.”

Luke continues to receive community support from a Walton Centre psychologist and other rehabilitation services.

“I’m not there yet” Luke continued, “but considering how far I’ve come I’m doing really well. The next step is to get my driving licence back and potentially start a career in carpet fitting by the end of the year! I’m so thankful for the support from The Walton Centre and I feel lucky to have the hospital here in Liverpool.”