Life-changing events come in many forms and happen when you least expect them. For us it was a telephone call on an ordinary day in March 2009.

Alex, our son and little brother to his sister, Emma, was a fun-loving young man with a great zest for life. He was 21 years old and a third year undergraduate at the University of St Andrews. He was thoroughly enjoying life and his studies; he was popular, had many good friends and a very bright future ahead of him.

A future is something that everyone expects, whatever it may be. But sometimes circumstances beyond our control cause things to happen that change what we expect. Sadly, the bright future Alex had in front of him wasn’t to be.

Tragically, Alex sustained a brain injury following a fall at university. This fall led to his death two days later. Alex was very much loved and is greatly missed by all of his family and friends. His sudden death has left a huge hole in many lives.

In the weeks and months that followed Alex’s death, we were inundated with messages of support and love. Some of the most moving and memorable messages, that have come to mean the world to us, were from his friends who were willing to share with us stories about Alex’s life away from his family.

To us, Alex was a loving son. But to others, he was a friend; a teammate; a confidante. Hearing others’ tales and memories of Alex helped us to know more about our son through their eyes. Those messages mean as much to us today as they did when we first read them.

After Alex died we became aware that he had been raising money for Headway – the brain injury association and we wanted to carry on with this support of the charity. It is what he would have wished.

In the years since Alex’s death, raising funds in his memory and knowing that we are able to help the many brain injury survivors and their families that Headway support has brought some comfort to us, his family and many friends. Our support continues to this day and ensures his light and memory remains bright in our lives.

The Headway In Memory resource wasn’t available when Alex died. If it had been, we are sure we would have benefited greatly from using it. It would have made it easier for people to share their memories of Alex and leave a lasting tribute, whilst helping us to raise funds in his name to help others.

With love,

Chris and Annie Richardson