Brain injury survivor does her bit for vital charity which helped her

Swindon woman Annabel Robson was just 18 years old and five weeks into her physics degree when she choked on a cough sweet and was deprived of oxygen for a quarter of an hour.

Left with what is termed an anoxic brain injury, she was in hospital for 11 months after the 2006 incident at the University of Surrey.

Annabel not only fought back but went on to achieve her degree in 2013, is married to Jonathan and has a five-year-old son, Alexander.

Her injury impaired her dexterity, so Annabel was glad of help she received from Dressability, a Swindon charity which alters clothes to make them easier for clients to put on and remove.

Annabel accepted an invitation from Dressability manager Sharon Tombs to come and do some admin work for the organisation.

Recalling her life-changing accident in 2006, Annabel said: "My head of year was asked to write my obituary - that's what I was told.

"I lost a lot of my memory. I went back to New College, did my AS Level again, then went back to uni and did a foundation year. It was really hard but I got through it in the end."

Sharon Tombs said: "About five-and-a-half years ago I went out to see Annabel. She'd recently had a baby and because Annabel has had a brain injury she was struggling with babygrow poppers and nursing bras.

"To have a new baby with a disability is quite a challenge, so we altered some babygrows and Annabel continued to be a customer intermittently over the next five years. Then, six months or so ago I was chatting to Annabel and she was looking to get back into the workplace.

"So I invited her to come and join us to do admin, and it's a way of getting her back into work. She knows us, so it's quite a supportive environment.

"What is nice is that we were able to help her and now she's helping us."

Annabel said: "They were very innovative. I didn't know how to solve my problems because I didn't know there was a solution. 

"I couldn't do the clips with one hand - I couldn't put the babygrow on. It was awkward. The poppers took half an hour."

Annabel is glad to be working again, and her ambition is simple: "I hope to be helpful to someone."

Information about Dressability can be obtained via https://www.dressability.org.uk/ and on 01793 512878.