A man who needed years to recover from a brutal attack in Watford High Street is to take on the London Marathon in support of a hospital that saved his life.
David Maloney was rushed to a specialist brain hospital after he was knocked unconscious while on his way home from a birthday night out in 2010.
David, who was 23 and lived in Bovingdon at the time, was attacked by a group of men and has no recollection of what happened.
A friend frantically called for help with David taken to Watford General Hospital and put on a ventilator before being transferred to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery due to the severeness of his brain injury.
David’s family remember receiving the call from police – his dad Billy says he still feels “sick to his stomach” by what happened to his son, saying he was so badly beaten and bruised that he was “unrecognisable”.
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Scans revealed the qualified plumber had a skull fracture at the back of his head with severe bleeding and bruising in two areas of his brain from a contra-coup injury, where his brain had rebounded within his skull with the force of the impact.
He was kept in an induced coma in intensive care for around 36 hours.
His mother Ann said: “We were told by the doctors they had to keep David in an induced coma to protect his brain. At first, we were just focused on David surviving but the doctors also had to prepare us for the impact of the damage to his brain if he did survive.
“When they woke David up from the coma we were so relieved, but the seriousness of his head injuries meant he had a very long road to recovery. Leaving hospital was just the start really.”
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David was able to return home a week after the attack, which has seen one man convicted, but he needed long-term neuro-rehabilitation for severe memory and balance problems, issues with concentration, fatigue and dizziness. These debilitating symptoms continued for many years.
Now 35, David is a father-of-one to seven-month-old Matilda and lives with his partner Jade in Leighton Buzzard. He works as a senior operations manager for a wine distribution company after the consequences of the attack caused him to give up plumbing.
Over the last five years, he has raised more than £12,000 for the National Brain Appeal charity.
His latest fundraising challenge will see him take on the London Marathon on October 2 where he will be joined by his brother Lee, 33.
David, who believes he has now made a full recovery, said: “Running the London Marathon for The National Brain Appeal is a wonderful way to show my gratitude to the doctors and nurses who saved my life.
“When I ran my first marathon for the charity in 2017, I found the training to be a real turning point in my recovery. I’m so happy that my brother Lee will be running alongside me this time. It will mean so much to me.”
To support the Maloney brothers, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/DavidLee-London2022.
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