Channel 4 has commissioned Trauma: My Broken Brain, a doc produced by Stream Media Group in partnership with The Stroke Association that follows three young adults through the fight of their lives after a life-threatening stroke.
Filmed over a year, the 2×60’ 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).
The film goes to 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.
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.”
Series Director is Storm Theunissen, Producer is Laura Hooper, Executive Producers are Victoria Noble, Ben Padfield and Production Executive is Fiona Ridgers.
Jon Creamer
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