Bride-to-be, 40, is left bedbound after hitting her head on a table while trying to pick up her toddler’s bottle at a friend’s barbecue
A bride-to-be has been left bedbound with crippling fatigue and dizzy spells after she hit her head on a table in a freak accident at a friend’s barbecue.
Mel Barclay and Scott Midmer had planned to marry this month before Ms Barclay suffered life-changing injuries in May.
The accident has left Ms Barclay with post-concussion syndrome which means she has bouts of dizziness and extreme fatigue and spends most of her day either in bed or sleeping, with devastating consequences for the family.
The 40-year-old has been unable to work as a self-employed tattoo artist while Mr Midmer, 46, has had to step away from his job as a HGV driver in order to look after their two children: Lily, aged three, and Tye, 16.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mr Midmer said: ‘It’s flipped our lives upside down. She was self‑employed, I was a trucker and now neither of us are working.
‘We were a fairly well‑off family that lived to their means, and all of a sudden everything’s upside down and inside out. We’re literally sliding towards, in a few months’ time, losing our home. Which is a frightening thought.’
The life-changing accident happened on Saturday, May 16 at a friend’s barbecue.
Mr Midmer said: ‘We’d literally just arrived at our friend’s house and we were saying hello when Mel bent down to get our daughter’s bottle from a bag under the garden table.
Pictured: Scott Midmer with his partner Mel Barclay and their daughter Lily before Ms Barclay’s accident
Ms Barclay after her accident. The bride-to-be has been left bedbound with crippling fatigue and dizzy spells after she hit her head on a table in a freak accident at a friend’s barbecue
Mr Midmer with his step daughter Tye (centre) and Ms Barclay and his daughter Lily. Unsurprisingly, Ms Barclay’s health problems have had a profound impact on her two daughters
‘She then hit the crown of her head full pelt on the table.’
The family, who have now set up a GoFundMe to bring in money to try to get them through, then stayed at the barbecue for a few more hours before travelling back to their home in Northampton.
It was during the car journey home that Ms Barclay first complained of a headache.
‘I gave Mel some medicine and we went to bed. I then got up at 2am to go to work and I arrived home on Sunday and found Mel sat on the floor in pain and in tears,’ Mr Midmer said.
‘So I said to Mel: “We need to go to hospital, love”.’
Following a CT scan, the couple were told that Ms Barclay had concussion and doctors said the symptoms should clear up in a few weeks.
However, nearly four months later, Ms Barclay’s symptoms have not improved and she has since been diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome.
Mr Midmer continued: ‘You know, it’s something everyone does, it’s such an ordinary thing to do to bang your head on a table. But it’s had such consequences for our family.
The family together before the accident. Reflecting on the past four months, Mr Midmer said: It’s been very tough. I’m not going to deny it’s been incredibly tough. There’s been low points, but it’s my family so I’ve got a purpose’
‘Mel spent all of August in bed and she keeps feeling dizzy, nauseous and getting this weird sort of paralysis. I’ve had to stop working to look after the house and the children.’
Post-concussion syndrome describes a set of symptoms that sometimes occur after a concussion. Doctors still do not have a clear means of treating the condition, instead Ms Barclay has been told the symptoms should clear up eventually.
Mr Midmer said: ‘We’ve been told it will get better, but there’s no timeline and so we have no comfort in knowing when this could improve.’
Unsurprisingly, Ms Barclay’s health problems have had a profound impact on her two daughters – in particular her youngest child Lily.
‘How do you explain to a three-year-old that mummy is sleeping all the time,’ Mr Midmer said.
‘I think Lily kind of understands what’s going on, which is sad to say, she’s kinda got used to me telling her nine times out of ten that mummy is in bed or she’s asleep.’
Meanwhile, Mr Midmer’s step-daughter Tye told him: ‘When am I going to see my mum? I’ve lost my mum.’
The father added: ‘[Tye] told me that she’s not seen her mum properly since May. That since the accident she’s seen her hours rather than days.’
Since Ms Barclay’s diagnosis, the family have felt the financial impact of the loss of their incomes and Mr Midmer has claimed that their attempts to access benefits have been difficult due to complexities of her disorder.
He said: ‘Basically we’re raising the money at the moment to essentially pay our bills and get us through the month. I’m desperate not to lose Lily’s childcare.
‘I can’t imagine what her life would be like stuck in the house with me while I’m looking after Mel.’
Ms Barclay has secured an appointment at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford which has a specialist neurological unit dedicated to severe head and brain trauma, and the family hope this might help Ms Barclay’s condition.
Reflecting on the past four months, Mr Midmer said: ‘It’s been very tough. I’m not going to deny it’s been incredibly tough.
‘There’s been low points, but it’s my family so I’ve got a purpose.’
