A ‘devoted’ father-of-two left in a coma after a ‘devastating’ motorbike crash is now being forced to wait three months for NHS rehabilitation – despite doctors warning that early treatment is critical.
John Jeffrey, 42, from Harlow, Essex, spent two weeks in a coma following the March 15 smash. He’s now breathing without assistance, but remains unresponsive and urgently needs specialist neurological care.
His heartbroken wife Julia, 49, said: ‘My one wish is for him to wake up and know who I am.’
The family have launched a GoFundMe to help cover the cost of private rehabilitation while they wait for an NHS bed to become available.
Doctors have warned them that getting treatment now is critical because his brain is more malleable and the earlier stages are best for recovery.
‘It’s just so frustrating not being given that option,’ Julia told MailOnline, adding that she felt ‘helpless’.
Now that ‘hard-working’ John was out of ‘immediate danger’, King’s College Hospital (KCH) – where he was airlifted to after he ‘cartwheeled’ of his bike – said they were no longer able to look after him.
With no space in a neurological hospital that offers intensive rehabilitation in the next three months, KCH want to send him to the family’s district hospital in Harlow which does not have the suitable therapies for such a complex brain injury.
The ‘devoted’ father-of-two was left in a coma after a ‘devastating’ motorbike crash but is now being forced to wait three months for NHS rehabilitation
John Jeffrey’s heartbroken wife Julia, 49, said: ‘My one wish is for him to wake up and know who I am’
The family have launched a fundraiser to help cover the cost of private rehabilitation while they wait for an NHS bed to become available
The family said it was not the NHS’s fault there was no bed available but just showed it was a ‘broken system’.
‘Surely the funding should follow the patient and it not be about postcodes where we are governed by red tape,’ Julia said.
She added that ‘the hardest part is being stuck in limbo,’ explaining ‘if someone passes, you can grieve and try to let them go but we’re not able to move on without getting help for John’.
While holding back tears, she said ‘I know I’m probably not going to get my John back, the doctors say it’s not clear if he’ll even wake up but we need the rehab to give it a shot.’
‘Who’s going to walk Jessica down the aisle? Who’s going to teach James to shave?’ she asked wistfully.
She said her daughter, 11, is getting frustrated because they don’t know what the outcome will be, while their 13-year-old son fainted when he saw his father attached to the ventilator.
‘Frightened’ James – who saw his dad fly off his bike – had to sit in the hall before finding the strength to see his ‘fun’ dad again and has now even helped wash him over the weekend.
Where as Jess hasn’t been able to go back since the first time she saw him, but Julia hopes she will go in next week to see her dad on his birthday.
‘All I can think is to tell people: “Make the most of now because you’re not guaranteed tomorrow”,’ Julia said
John’s sister, Georgina Howell, said their world has been ‘destroyed’ and revealed she ‘can’t even look at pictures of him anymore’
The family have launched a fundraiser to help cover the cost of private rehabilitation while they wait for an NHS bed to become available
Julia’s children, 11 and 13, wrote poignant mother’s day cards for her saying they ‘know this month hasn’t turned out as we wanted but you’ll always have me’ and ‘I hope dad can wake up asap so he can wish you a happy mother’s day’
The Montessori-owner admitted she was trying to keep it together for her children’s sake, but knew she was ‘going to break down’ soon: ‘it’s just one foot in front of the other.’
John was racing with motorbikes for the first time when he came off his and hit his head on the floor ‘time and time again’, needing to be intubated at the scene and put into a coma by the paramedics before being flown to hospital.
John’s sister, Georgina Howell, said he ‘fought with every ounce of strength, displaying an unbreakable spirit’ and ‘showed remarkable resilience’.
Three weeks later, he can open his eyes and is breathing on his own but remains unresponsive thanks to his diffuse axonal injury (a brain injury where there is widespread damage tot he white matter).
Georgina told how their world has been ‘destroyed’ and revealed she ‘can’t even look at pictures of him anymore’.
‘It’s horrible, you don’t know if you’ll ever hear his voice again – you go about your day and then you remember and it’s like a punch to the gut.’
‘Every day we’re just hoping something happens and he responds to us – this whole thing has been surreal. You never think this kind of thing will happen to you.’
Georgina said she was ‘really angry’ and ‘let down’ at the lack of availability, adding that ‘you pay taxes all your life and then you can’t get the treatment you need’.
John ‘fought with every ounce of strength, displaying an unbreakable spirit’ and ‘showed remarkable resilience’ when he was in a coma
While holding back tears, Julia said ‘I know I’m probably not going to get my John back, the doctors say it’s not clear if he’ll even wake up but we need the rehab to give it a shot’
‘It’s made us so depressed, but we want to to fight it which is why we’re fundraising’.
The family have set up an online fundraising page to help support them as they try move him to a private hospital which will provide the specialist treatment he needs – raising nearly £10,000 in four days.
Julia said ‘you think the world is becoming a horrible place but then people come together like this and are absolutely amazing. There’s people that I don’t even know who are donating, it just restores your faith in humanity a bit’.
The mum said that John, who worked in tunnel construction, ‘used to work loads of hours so he could retire early and we had all these plans for our future’ but now she is ‘heartbroken’ because ‘that future might not there’.
‘It makes me think: “What was the point of it all?” when he could have just spent those moments with me and the kids,’ she admitted.
‘All I can think is to tell people: “Make the most of now because you’re not guaranteed tomorrow”.’
Julia said she couldn’t ‘take biking away from him, even now’ because he ‘loved it’.
‘Sometimes you feel anger that he put me and the kids in this position but then I get so sad because he wouldn’t have done this if he knew this would happen’.
John ‘used to work loads so he could retire early and we had all these plans for our future’ but now Julia is ‘heartbroken’ because ‘that future might not there’
‘Who’s going to walk Jessica down the aisle? Who’s going to teach James to shave?’ Julia asked wistfully
‘Hard-working’ John – who worked in tunnel construction – took on extra hours so that he could retire early
The Department for Health and Social Care said this is ‘a tragic example of the broken NHS we inherited, and our thoughts are with John and his family’.
‘Millions of patients have been waiting too long for essential treatment, but we are on a mission to turn this situation around,’ they continued.
‘Since taking office, we have cut waiting lists by over 200,000, ended the resident doctor strikes to keep staff on the front line, and delivered the extra three million appointments we promised.
‘There is a long way to go but through our Plan for Change we will deliver the investment and reform needed to get our NHS back on its feet and delivering for patients once again.’
The NHS and KCH declined to comment on individual cases.
