On A Good Day

Elizabeth and Julia talk about their journey with brain injury as guests of the Brain Tumour Charity's podcast, Let's talk about Brain Tumours. In the episode, they open up about their experiences as partners of brain injury survivors, detailing some of the challenges they have faced along the way and the progress made. Co-host of Let's Talk About Brain Tumours, Andy Tudor, talks about his life fo...

Chevaun Greenhill was still in primary school when her father had his first stroke. Over the years, she helped care for her beloved dad. In this episode, she talks fondly of Barry's persistence to live his life as he had done before - sometimes with hilarious results. As well as the humour, she also tells Elizabeth and Julia about the pain and struggles she - and her family- experienced which were...

Christmas can be a very stressful time of year for everyone but for someone with a brain injury and their family it can cause additional pressures. In this episode, Elizabeth and Julia give On A Good Day's 12 days of Christmas with brain injury. They look at aspects of the festive season, sharing their experiences and strategies on how to deal with them. This Christmas, Julia and Elizabeth will ha...

SameYou co-founder Jenny Clarke talks to On A Good Day about the day she found out her actress daughter, Emilia Clarke, suffered a brain injury in her early 20s and the family's "disbelief". Emilia had just finished filming the first season of Game of Thrones, with a starring role as Daenerys Targaryen, when she had her first brain aneurysm. She later had life-saving surgery to treat a second. Jen...

Joe Borges tells Elizabeth and Julia how his brain injury gave him a new appreciation for life and why he believes it was a 'blessing' allowing him to have a life "reset". The NeuroNerds co-host divulges his feelings of being lost and 'surviving' rather than living prior to having a brain injury but how he is now able to live a purposeful life. He reveals the highs and lows following his brain inj...

Elizabeth and Julia return with a second season of On A Good Day raising more questions around brain injury and continuing to seek answers. In this new series, they'll be hearing more about the lived experiences of guests to help them with their mission to raise awareness of the impact of brain injury on all involved. In this episode, they reflect on some of the themes they will be tackling and wh...

As season one of On A Good Day comes to a close, Elizabeth and Julia look back at some of their highlights and how the podcast has positively impacted them. Julia reveals how listening to episode 3 on positive risk helped shape her decision to take a family trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar. While Elizabeth reflects on the episode when she spoke about the five year anniversary of Paul's brain injury a...

Conor Madden was playing his dream role of Hamlet when a sword fight went wrong and he suffered a brain injury on stage. In this episode, the Irish actor, who was 24 when it happened, tells Elizabeth and Julia his honest story of living with brain injury for the past 12 years . With humour and ease, Conor opens up about the challenges he has faced and how he has learned to love himself again after...

"With the right help, at the right time, there can be life after brain injury," says Luke Griggs, the Chief Executive of Headway, the UK's leading brain injury charity. In this episode, he speaks to Julia and Elizabeth about his vision for Headway which provides much needed support and information for all affected by brain injury. The charity helps survivors, carers and wider family members for, a...

On Carers Week, Elizabeth and Julia pay tribute to the incredible work unpaid carers do and speak about their own personal experiences of caring for someone. There are 5 million carers in England and Wales who contribute a staggering £162bn to the economy but as Elizabeth and Julia discuss, the true number is likely to be far higher. New research from Carers Week show 73% of people providing care...

Volunteering has a huge range of benefits which Elizabeth and Julia explore in this episode of On A Good Day with their guests. They discuss how taking on a volunteer position, especially after brain injury can give survivors purpose, boost confidence, help improve communication and can positively impact the people they are in contact with. Elizabeth's husband, Paul Callaghan, and Julia's husband,...

Award-winning author, Jon McGregor, set out to write about the Antarctic but it was to become a novel about stroke. Jon sat down with Julia and Elizabeth for On A Good Day to discuss the book, Lean Fall Stand, with many of its themes resonating with both hosts. Lean Fall Stand looks at the impact of stroke on survivor Robert and his wife who suddenly takes on the role of carer. It explores the cha...

Aphasia may not be a familiar word for many but it IS a common condition which affects many brain injury survivors. So what is aphasia and how can it be improved? In this episode, Elizabeth and Julia are joined by Professor Alex Leff who explains more about the condition which impacts language and how it affects lives. He gives advice on how carers can help survivors, ways to get further therapy a...

After a brain injury, family roles and dynamics can change significantly with the partner of the survivor usually taking on a caring role as well as additional responsibilities. In this episode, Elizabeth and Julia discuss how their roles changed after their husbands, Paul and Hector, had a brain injury. Some of their discussion covers being the sole driver, managing financial affairs, planning fo...

On this episode Elizabeth and Julia speak to an inspiring couple, Joy Alliy and Ross Methven, who were impacted by brain injury when Joy suddenly had a stroke aged 42. She was living in Tanzania at the time with Ross who initially found it hard to believe she'd had a stroke because she was so young. They share their story of what happened in September 2020 and what medical help Joy did, and didn’t...

Elizabeth and Julia are joined by Dr. Fergus Gracey, a Clinical Neuropsychologist and Associate Professor at the University of East Anglia. In this episode, they discuss a wide range of topics from identity, connection and wellness. Fergus shares his knowledge and research into brain injury rehabilitation, giving guidance on creative ways to get the best out of brain injury survivors to help motiv...

How do relationships and life change after a brain injury? In this episode, Elizabeth and Julia talk openly about their changing lives following the brain injuries sustained by their husbands. Elizabeth shares some of the realisations which have hit her as she marks five years since Paul had his stroke. In a raw and emotional episode she talks about grief, acceptance but also the progress they hav...

Serena Banfield was studying for her A-levels when her dad, John, had a stroke, changing her family's life forever. In this honest and uplifting episode, she relives the events surrounding her dad's stroke with Elizabeth and Julia, finding that going to school and continuing her daily routine helped her get through the difficult times. Serena reveals how the relationship with her father has change...

What can you do to communicate better with someone who has aphasia following a stroke? In this episode, speech and language therapist Bindi Patel explains some of the techniques she uses with stroke survivors to communicate with them and improve their speech. She talks to Julia and Elizabeth about strategies to help loved ones recover both in hospital and when they return home, emphasising the imp...

Author and speaker Sara Challice cared for her husband, Neal, for 13 years after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. She knows first hand how many carers can fall ill looking after a loved one as she reached crisis point herself. In this episode, she talks honestly about her experience and how putting herself last led to her becoming mentally and physically ill. She shares how she came back from...

Elizabeth and Julia reflect on 2022 and some of its highlights and what they have been grateful for in the past year. They share their plans, intentions and strategies for 2023 to help them have more of the good days. Inspired by episode #3 with Occupational Therapist, Roisin Hyde, Julia is going to take more 'positive risks' citing one of our inspirational guests, brain injury survivor Satinder S...

When brain injury hits your life it's a time of huge uncertainty with days, weeks, even months spent in hospital. In this episode, we look at that time of crisis following brain injury and how best to support family members, friends and the patient themselves when they are in hospital. Joining us to discuss the topic is Suzy Barker, an adviser at Addenbrookes hospital, who helps families and patie...

What's it like to live with a brain injury? In this special episode, Julia and Elizabeth’s husbands, Hector and Paul, join them in an honest conversation about life as a brain injury survivor. They share the moment they realised they had suffered a stroke and speak candidly about how it has impacted them and the people around them. Paul shares his struggles with accepting his stroke and being unab...

In this episode, Specialist Occupational Therapist, Roisin Hyde, talks to Elizabeth and Julia about how families and friends can help brain injury survivors in their rehabilitation, months and years down the line. She advises on continuing to reset goals, working on achievable tasks and helping survivors push themselves further - but she also reveals some of the ways progress can be hindered. Rois...

This guest episode features the inspirational Satinder Sanghera whose life was turned upside down when she had a brain injury aged 20 while studying medicine. With hard work and determination, she defied many members of the medical board by qualifying as a doctor and going on to have a successful GP career.  Satinder tells Elizabeth and Julia her story of brain injury and talks about the challenge...