Brain injury survivor to take on endurance challenge

A woman who has suffered two traumatic brain injuries is set to take on an endurance challenge to show "recovery is possible".

Cara Grimwade, from New Mills, Derbyshire, had two dirt-biking crashes - one in 2022 and another in October 2023 - which both left her with brain injuries.

The 31-year-old said the accidents "changed everything physically, mentally and emotionally" and told the BBC she was "very fortunate" with her recovery.

Grimwade, who is originally from Devon, said she was taking on the "two hardest swim, run challenges in the UK" - the Puddle Buckley and the Frog Graham - as well as cycling between Llanberis, Wales and Keswick to raise funds for brain injury charity Brainkind.

The challenge - scheduled for 22 June - will see her running 138km (85.7 miles), scaling 36 peaks in the Lake District and North Wales as well as swimming about 7km (4.3 miles) over eight lakes.

"This challenge isn't just about physical endurance, it's about turning pain into purpose," she said.

"It's basically showing that recovery is possible with the right support, determination and things like that you can come out with anything that life throws at you stronger.

"I'm a very petite female and I feel like I've often been sort of overlooked because of that and I've kind of spent my life feeling like I had something to prove."

Grimwade told the BBC in her first dirt biking crash in New Zealand she suffered nerve damage and severe concussion which meant she could not use her right arm for six months or open her fingers.

She added that trauma "changes your world" and said after both crashes her personality changed "dramatically".

"You do find yourself getting depressed because everything's overwhelming. Your brain takes so much longer to process things and understand the world around you - everything's frustrating," she said.

"I couldn't even go into the supermarket because it was too much to process. It was horrible.

"You feel really caged and it definitely changes your personality."

The first brain injury impacted her language while the second one affected her memory.

"I couldn't really form new memories. And so for about six months, life was going on around me and I couldn't remember what happened two days later," she said.

"And so you really lose yourself, to be honest."

As part of her recovery, she went underwent rehabilitation to improve the memory and language pathways in her brain, as well as physical therapy to regain balance and use of her hand.

Grimwade said she was taking on the challenge to raise money for Brainkind as she knew "first-hand how life-changing" brain injuries could be.

"I'm very fortunate with my recovery from mine and the severity of mine and, a lot of people aren't," she said.

"The more I've been doing this and talking to people about it, the more I hear stories about family members of people I just meet who have had really bad experiences.

"It's for them really."

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