Channel 4 Announces Intimate Documentary Series from Stream Media Group on Young People Living with the Aftermath of a Stroke

Every five minutes, someone in the UK has a stroke, and it can strike at any age. Trauma: My Broken Brain is a powerful new documentary commissioned by Channel 4 and produced by Stream Media with the support of the Stroke Association. It follows three young survivors through the most frightening days of their lives and the gruelling journey back to independence after stroke.

• Dan, 28, a professional dancer, must re-learn to walk after major brain surgery
• Saskia, a social butterfly, 22, left bedbound for nine months by crippling OCD and exhaustion
• Dec, 20, four months into a new relationship, spends weeks in a coma with his family unsure if he will regain consciousness

Filmed over seven months with extraordinary access to these young adults at the most terrifying and testing moments of their lives, the 2x60’ series meets Dan (28), a dancer left confined to a wheelchair, barely able to speak following emergency brain surgery; Saskia (22), a self-described social butterfly left bedbound after a brain bleed so severe her family feared she would not survive; and Dec (20), who collapsed just four months into a new relationship and spent weeks in a coma, his family and girlfriend unsure if he would survive.

Cameras follow Dec from a coma in The Walton Centre’s Horsley Intensive Care Unit, to a breakthrough moment in the High Dependency Unit, when he gives the first indication that he knows who he is. From there, the film charts his recovery through the Complex Rehabilitation Unit (CRU).

We are at The Walton Centre for Dan’s cranioplasty, and Clatterbridge Rehabilitation Centre on the Wirral, capturing his milestones, setbacks and small victories of early stroke recovery in unflinching detail.

A stroke is a devastating brain injury, leaving behind life-changing trauma. With 1.4 million stroke survivors living in the UK today and more than 85,000 people surviving a stroke every year, the series confronts head on the myth that stroke only happens to older people. Dan must undergo surgery to repair a large hole in his skull before he can even think about dancing again. Saskia sets herself an ambitious physical challenge to reclaim the life she lost. And Dec, having made what looks like a miraculous recovery, discovers that the psychological and cognitive damage runs far deeper than anyone around him expected.

Simon Lee, Channel 4, Commissioning Exec said: “Stroke is often thought of as something that happens later in life, but the reality is that it can affect anyone, at any age. Through extraordinary access and deeply personal storytelling, Trauma: My Broken Brain offers a powerful insight into the physical and emotional realities of recovery. This is an ambitious and important series that challenges perceptions and gives a voice to young people whose lives have been transformed by stroke, as they embark on the long road that begins after survival.”

“Knowing the devastation a stroke can cause, this was a vital story for Stream to tell. What struck us throughout filming was how little people understand about stroke. Survival is often seen as the end of the story, when in reality, it is only the beginning. By sharing their journeys with such honesty and courage, Dec, Dan and Saskia revealed the reality of rebuilding a life after stroke, and the truth behind the long and unforgiving journey to reclaim the right to live an independent life. Alongside the extraordinary support of their families, their stories offer a powerful insight into resilience, determination and hope. It’s been a privilege to tell their stories in this vital documentary series, that we hope will wake a nation up to the devastation of stroke.”, added Victoria Noble, Stream Media

Juliet Bouverie OBE, CEO of the Stroke Association, said: “We were thrilled to support Channel 4 on this powerful documentary that truly shines a light on the reality of stroke, and how it can affect anybody at any age. A stroke is a devastating brain injury, leaving behind life-changing trauma. In an instant, a stroke can steal away the things that many of us take for granted, such as walking, talking, eating and living independently.

“We hope the documentary will help to raise awareness that stroke isn’t only a medical emergency from which you either die or survive, but instead the start of a long and gruelling journey to rebuild a life. As Dec, Dan and Saskia so poignantly show, the fight doesn’t end when their lives are saved; it’s personal courage, determination and support from others that are key to recovery.”

KEY CREDITS

• Production company: Stream Media
• Series Director: Storm Theunissen
• Producer: Laura Hooper
• Executive Producers: Victoria Noble, Ben Padfield
• Production Executive: Fiona Ridgers
• Filmed with access to The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust and Clatterbridge Rehabilitation Centre, Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust