‘Falling off a café chair completely destroyed my life’
“I tried to go back to work a couple of days later which was a disaster zone,” Ruth said. “We live in Penylan and I tried to drive to the Bay via Rover Way. By the time I got to Tesco on Rover Way I felt like I’d had 15 pints. That’s the only way I can explain it.
“I parked my car up and Chris had to pick me up. My car was stuck there for days.”
Ruth opted to visit A&E for a second time in four days where she was given medication to address the migraines she was experiencing.
She was also told to go to an optician as her eyesight had started to deteriorate.
After hearing that the wait to see a specialist neuro-ophthalmologist on the Welsh NHS could take as long as three years, they decided to see someone privately.
“I believe it has something to do with the way my brain is firing after the incident,” said Ruth, whose condition is described by medics as post-concussion syndrome.
Ruth said she was told in a one-off session with a physiotherapist that the muscles in her head and neck are constantly contracting which could be constricting the blood flow to her brain.
“The physiotherapist was, essentially, pulling my neck, and for about an hour and a half I felt normal,” she said.
“But I need to be able to access this four, maybe five times a week.”
Ruth and Chris claim that, despite being referred to a specialist team of physicians at Rookwood Hospital in Cardiff weeks ago, they have not accepted her as a patient.
Chris added: “Every second Monday they go through all the referrals [at the hospital].
“They’ve met and gone ‘that’s not the type of brain injury that we would deal with’.
“The brain injuries they see are acute and often involve things like car accidents or strokes.”
Despite being “fiercely Welsh” and loving their rugby, the couple claim they are facing the heartbreaking decision to move out of the country to get Ruth the treatment she desperately needs.
Ruth added: “When you are sick you expect to get help.
“Having that glimmer of hope that it could be fixed and then still not getting anywhere is heartbreaking.”
In response, a spokesman for Cardiff and Vale UHB said: “Rookwood provides both a specialist rehabilitation service for patients with severe traumatic brain injuries and a community based service for patients with less severe traumatic brain injuries.
“We cannot comment on individual cases, but we would welcome Ms Kennard to contact our Concerns Team if she wishes to discuss her concerns further.”