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Simon Brown

28th March 2023

Health Club member Simon Brown tells us about this story.

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Simon has been an active member at the Goodwood Health Club since joining in 2018 and joined Golf At Goodwood the year after.

Simon suffered life changing injuries to his foot, ankle, lower leg, knee, pelvis, ribs, and spleen after a serious head-on car collision near Arundel in June 2019. Since then, Simon has undergone six major operations, with more to come

As well as the physical challenges, Simon has suffered with PTSD since the crash. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a condition that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic life-threatening event or serious injury. It is estimated that 50% of people will experience trauma at some point in their life. The defining characteristic of a traumatic event is its capacity to provoke fear, helplessness, or horror in response to the threat of injury or death and therefore can affect anyone. 

With the support of the team at Fontwell Physiotherapy, Simon has had to learn how to walk again and has been using the gym at Goodwood Health Club to follow the exercise programme provided by his physio team. As well as being a regular spin class attendee to re-build aerobic capacity, Simon, a single figure handicap golfer prior to the accident, is now planning to raise money for charity by playing and walking unaided around Golf At Goodwood for the first time since the crash, a distance of approximately 9km. To put that into context, at the beginning of 2023 Simon was only able to walk a distance of 2km.

Simon said "The facilities at Goodwood Health Club have become integral to my recovery over the last three and a half years, in fact, I'm normally here six days a week. It's been really important for me to 'do as I'm told' by the physio team after each operation.

"The nature of the injuries were very complex, so I've needed to be disciplined to follow the expert advice. I used to be very active and sporty prior to the accident, with a demanding job that required a lot of international travel. All of this suddenly changed in a instant in 2019, which was tough to deal with.

"The flashbacks, bad dreams and interrupted sleep mean that PTSD is an exhausting condition. I have regular therapy sessions with Psychology Sussex to enable me to process what has happened. Getting back to playing golf has become a big motivator for me, as it will bring a bit more normality back to my life. Being out on the course is great for mental wellbeing."

Simon will complete the challenge on The Park Course at Goodwood with a small, select group of well-wishers at the end of September and a few days later, on 5th October, he has invited 72 people from around the world to join him for a day of golf and fundraising on the adjacent Downs Course with all the proceeds going to PTSD UK.

If you would like to support Simon by way of sponsorship, you can do so here, or if you'd like to join Simon at this incredible event, you can find out more by emailing him on brownsimonh@aol.com