HORIZON – MY AMAZING BRAIN: RICHARD’S WAR, BBC2
HORIZON – MY AMAZING BRAIN: RICHARD’S WAR
MONDAY 5TH FEBRUARY 9PM, BBC2
Horizon follows the story of Richard Gray and his remarkable recovery from a life changing catastrophic stroke. The film shows – in extraordinary detail – the rarely seen journey back to recovery. Recorded by his documentary filmmaker wife Fiona over four years ‘Richard’s War’ shows, in uncompromising detail, the hard work of recovery.
Initially bed bound and unable to do anything, including speak the initial outlook was bleak, yet occasionally small glimmers of hope emerged. Armed always with her camera Fiona captures the moment Richard moves his fingers for the first time, and then over months she documents his struggle to relearn how to walk again.
The story also features poignant footage delivered in a series of flashbacks – in which we see and hear Richard at his professional best. He was a peacekeeper with the United Nations, immersed in the brutal war in Sarajevo, Bosnia.
We also hear from the surgeons and clinicians who were integral to Richard’s remarkable recovery, from describing life-saving surgery, high-risk reconstructive surgery, to intensive rehabilitation programmes that push the former soldier to his limits. As the film starts Fiona asks “will Richard, my Richard still be there?” By the end the answer is clear.