Rachel Harry, now 43, from Wrexham had a heart attack during the birth of her daughter Freya in July 2012 after an undetected blood clot. This led to a devastating hypoxic brain injury. She pulled through but after a week in a coma doctors said she would never walk, talk, eat or sit up independently again. With a new addition to the family to look after, Rachel’s father set up the Rachel Harry Fund to try and fund her essential physio and make her home more accessible. We spoke with Rachel’s mum, Karan, to learn more about how the fund has helped Rachel maintain her special bond with daughter Freya, and how using easyfundraising has helped.
Why extra funding is needed
When Rachel first awoke from her coma, her family had to come to terms with the severity of her condition. Karan explained, “With Rachel there wasn’t anything. She couldn’t speak, sit up or eat. The phrase I got very frustrated with was ‘there’s nothing to work with’ and the physio that the NHS were prepared to provide was limited to joint and muscle maintenance not physical improvement.”
“Rachel went into hospital to have a baby and everything around us was thriving. She was a hairdresser, training new hairdressers in a really nice job, and I was at the peak of a great career, then bang she needed all this help and so did Freya.”
The critical care staff saved Rachel’s life, but her family were told the specialised neuro physiotherapy she needed to continue to improve was unavailable on the NHS. This lead to her father Paul setting up the Rachel Harry Fund and family and friends began to host fundraising activities. However, events like the Covid pandemic in 2020 and the cost-of-living crisis have hit their fundraising efforts hard, meaning her vital physio sessions now take place just once per week. Despite the costs, the effect on Rachel’s life and her relationship with Freya has been priceless.
The impact of private physio
“The private physio has allowed Rachel to ‘live’ as a mum, and she’s made huge progress this year.” Karan explained. “Rachel is clearly responsive now and you can have a conversation with her. The brain injury is catastrophic there’s no doubt about that, but doctors are amazed by how she is. Her consultants all label her their miracle. This year her rehab consultant said, ‘If 12 years ago you’d have said Rachel would be walking into my office on her own and shaking my hand and speaking to me I never would have believed it’”.
Karan also says that Freya, now 13, hopes one day her mum will be able to take her shopping and swimming like her friends’ mums do. Her dream came a step closer on a recent trip to Portugal, when the pair were able to play together in the swimming pool unaided for the first time.
“It was a huge step, we have taken Rachel on holiday abroad in the past, but it’s been very restrictive, and she wasn’t able to do much but this year she was in the pool with Freya, and it was incredible. Freya was able to forget about her caring role and just have fun with her mummy. It was a pleasure for me to see it was very emotional.”
A special bond – how daughter Freya has made a difference
By the time Rachel returned home, Freya was 11 months old, sitting up and playing. By watching her daughter, Rachel began to learn to do the same. When Freya started to take her first steps, Rachel soon followed. Eventually Rachel began to finish sentences when Freya read books.
Describing Rachel and Freya’s relationship, Karan said: “It’s very special, it’s almost role reversal. Freya’s almost like the mum. I’m so proud of both of them. Freya’s 13 now and she’s a lovely teenager and has such a caring, giving nature and that’s because I think of how she’s grown up with her mum. She’s Rachel’s driving force.”
How easyfundraising has helped
Along with fundraising efforts, Karan has had to invest her money, and considerable time towards caring for Rachel and Freya, giving up her job to be able to support them. “I’ve exhausted all my savings over the last 13 years. But without the weekly private physio sessions Rachel would not be functioning as well as she is.” She explained.
As a funding source that didn’t require direct donors or activities to be planned, Karan registered the fund with easyfundraising. To date, almost £600 has been raised towards her physio costs, thanks to just 25 people shopping in support over the last few years.
“Fundraising activity has been very limited since Covid so easyfundraising contributions directly fund Rachel’s physio sessions. Easyfundraising takes the pressure from fundraising activities, money is raised just by online shopping with no extra cost to the shopper. Donations go in automatically as people shop and it’s amazing how much it adds up.”
Karan explained that her fundraising community of family and friends have become quite competitive in seeing who can get to the top of their supporter leaderboard, just by doing their grocery shops, ordering takeaways or booking holidays via our website and app.
“It’s made a huge difference for us. We regularly update friends and family across social media with how much has been raised and remind them how easily they can help. It means the world.”
How you can support the Rachel Harry Fund
We’re delighted to hear the progress that Rachel is making thanks to her private physio. But her and Freya still need your support. If you would like to get behind their fundraising efforts every time you shop online at no extra cost, you can sign up as a supporter here.