The Beyond Trauma Foundation
Our Story
You are reading this because you have undergone some form of trauma, if you have lost a loved one, I am truly sorry for your loss. Once you have experienced trauma, it never leaves you, but you can continue your life journey, albeit living differently. The purpose of this book is to help anyone who has experienced trauma, no matter where they are on their journey.
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I wrote the first Halt 2 Proceed years ago, aimed at business colleagues who felt burnt out, who needed to stop and take stock of their situation. This new edition has taken three years to develop but takes the same principles and applies it to anyone who has undergone a major traumatic event in their life and needs help in getting through the issues that they are now facing. Your life as you knew it has been halted and you are now struggling to proceed forward. This guide provides steps to help you along that journey.
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People suffer trauma every day, many receiving health diagnosis which change their lives for ever. Others lose loved ones unexpectedly and for some, their lives are never the same again.
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I am one of the lucky ones, I survived an out of hospital cardiac arrest because I had people who were there who knew CPR, a Defibrillator was available on-site at Caldicot Leisure centre and I received amazing care from the Wales Air Ambulance and the NHS in Wales. Not everyone is so lucky, many people never fully recover from their diagnosis, or they are left without a precious loved one and are now missing a major part of their lives.
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My chain of survival was intact, every link was interwoven with the next, there were no breaks in the chain, I had instant support, with a trained Critical Care Practitioner at my side within 20 minutes due to the professional expertise at the Wales Air Ambulance. It is important that the chain of survival is started as soon as possible, any delays can lead to further complications on the journey to recovery.
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I was effectively dead for 8 minutes, no heartbeat. But for those 8 minutes, my football colleagues, and the trained staff at Caldicot leisure centre performed CPR before 3 shocks of a defibrillator restarted my heart. I remember nothing of the incident, even now 2 years later, it is a blank. I only know what happened from friends and medical staff who saw the incident and engaged in the survival chain.
Our Mission
I hope that this book and course will help anyone who has undergone trauma, it is the second book I have written on the subject, I wrote an in-depth look at the first year of my recovery in my book 1 in 10 survivor (which is available on Amazon).
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Writing the first book helped me to express my feelings, to understand what had happened to me and to process what was going on during that time. This new book provides steps to help you process what has happened to you, the changes in your life and provides guidance with unique steps to help you deal with your trauma.
If you have recently undergone trauma that has had a life changing effect on you, please use the steps in this book to take time to understand that this a major event in your life, the journey to recovery is not an easy one. You will have to live differently, but by understanding your journey, realising you are not alone and that there is incredible support in the world, you can continue to live your life.
Major trauma affects everyone, not just the patient, it affects the families and the people involved in the incident. Everyone involved in an incident needs to be supported and everyone must remember that there are people here to help, people are on the same journey as you, maybe further down the road to recovery, but they have shared experiences which can be extremely helpful.
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The ripple effect can be massive, one incident can affect a lot of people in diverse ways. My SCA was in front of hundreds of people at a football tournament, that day affected them all. Even now, years later I still meet people who were there that day and they all mention what happened.
It is not easy to deal with trauma, everyone deals with it differently and as you read this, it will trigger emotions, but I hope that the steps will help you to overcome the challenges you are now facing
Why Beyond Trauma?
I must state that I am not a medical professional, just a survivor of trauma who has worked through peer support to help others. I do have basic counselling training and I am a fully trained peer support facilitator and trauma informed coach.
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You should seek immediate help from trained medical professionals for your mental and physical health issues if you need it.
This course has been developed through lived experience, listening to group sessions and taking part in one to one sessions. There are other methods to help you, the techniques in this guide are just one tool in your toolkit at your disposal should you need it.
You will relate to the steps, you will nod your head and say, ‘I understand that I am going through that now’. The Beyond Trauma Foundation was created to help people through peer support who are experiencing trauma, we hope that we can help you.
1 in 10 Survivor
This is the true story of how life can change in an instant. In April 2022, Alan Owen suffered a Sudden Cardiac Arrest. He was the lucky one in ten who lived to tell the tale.
In 1 in 10 Survivor, Alan talks about the impact his SCA has had on him, his family and friends. Find out how it has affected their lives forever and how they coped with the immediate impact, the months of recovery and Alan’s further diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
This book contains a wealth of information for anyone who has experienced a medical trauma and the long road to recovery. According to the British Heart Foundation, only 1 in 10 people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Find out how the chain of survival fell into place for Alan, and read about the heroism of friends, strangers and medical practitioners who all contributed to this success story.