A Calgary family is looking for answers after their daughter was severely injured in an attack while visiting family in the U.K.
Keeley Hethershaw, 22, was with her aunt and cousins in Berwick on Feb 21 when she was caught in the crossfire of a brawl outside a pub.
“Two men were fighting, and Keeley was just there,” her father, Lee Hethershaw, said. “She’d gone out to have a vape, and (a) girl just came over and pushed her to the floor.
“She hit her head on the curb, which fractured her skull in two places, which resulted in a blood clot in her brain.”
Alcohol-related violence
Lee, who immigrated to Canada from England 12 years ago with his wife and two daughters, said a rise in alcohol-related violence was the reason they left.
“It’s a pretty dangerous country, actually. Growing up there, every week there’s fights in the town,” he said. “If a fight breaks out, it can turn into other fights … It just turns into a bloody riot. I’ve seen it happen myself.
“It’s the culture over there to just drink as much as you can. It’s just binge-drinking culture, which gets the violence with it,” he said. “Alcohol is a terrible thing.”
Keeley hadn’t even been in the country for 24 hours when she was attacked, he said.
“What happened to her is actually my worst fear,” he said. “I left for their safety, and then this happens. It’s just my worst nightmare realized.”
The woman and two men involved have been arrested by local police, and the incident is under investigation.
“The police do enforce it strongly, so that’s the good thing. It’s just a shame they don’t prevent it in the beginning,” Lee said.
Keeley Hethershaw, 22, is recovering in hospital after a violent attack in the U.K. Photo provided by Hethershaw family.
Keeley underwent emergency neurosurgery, and remains in the hospital battling severe brain bruising and swelling. Due to a dangerously low red blood cell count, she’s also needed two blood transfusions.
“It’s just been like a bad dream ever since,” Lee said. Keeley’s mother has flown over to be with her, and her aunt and cousins, Lee said, have hardly left her bedside.
“We’re very optimistic about full recovery,” he said. Friday morning was the first time he was able to speak with her since the incident, which he said was very emotional.
“She’s so determined to get better, and she’s also angry it happened,” he said. “Obviously, she’s very confused. She’s in a lot of pain.”
Despite the extent of her injuries, however, she’s remained her usual self, he said.
“She was conscious before she went under for the operation … and she was so bothered about how much hair they shaved off,” he said. “It was just typical Keeley, which gave us hope even at that point.”
It’ll be at least six weeks before she’ll be cleared to fly home, but Lee said he’s encouraging her to stay in the hospital as long as possible.
“She’s in one of the top four best brain surgery hospitals in the world, so she’s very lucky,” he said. “They’ve got several neurosurgeons there. They’ve even got a professor of neurology … She’s got so many doctors and nurses checking on her regularly.”
Out-of-pocket costs
Keeley didn’t have insurance for the trip, he said, which means it’ll all be paid for out of pocket. Her sister, Bethany, started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Keeley’s recovery. As of Saturday afternoon, more than $14,000 has been donated to the cause.
“It’s giving me hope again in the humanity of the world,” Lee said. One man, known by Bethany but not by Keeley herself, donated $5,000.
“I nearly cried at that, I said, ‘My God, what a guy,’” Lee said. “It’s empathy. It’s a brilliant thing.”
Keeley’s cousins have also been doing fundraisers in Berwick.
“The people of Berwick are devastated. They’re all asking what they can do,” Lee said.
Keeley was living in Nanaimo, B.C., but once she’s able to fly back home, she’ll be relocating to Calgary to be with her family for the remainder of her recovery.
She works as a home care nurse for elderly people in Nanaimo, which Lee said she really enjoys. He’s confident she’ll be able to get back to it once she’s recovered, “but it’s going to be a long time.”
She also loves to travel, and is an avid snowboarder, which Lee said she plans to get back to by next season.
“She’s very optimistic, she’s very brave, she’s very strong,” he said.
ddekuyper@postmedia.com