An electrician from Cannock has been left with permanent brain damage after a metal bar crashed onto his head at work, forcing him and his wife to survive on just £1,300 a month in disability benefits. Mark Ludlow, 63, was helping a colleague repair a faulty lift at a Staffordshire factory on 17 November 2021 when a huge metal rod plummeted from the shaft and struck him in the face, knocking him unconscious and shattering his facial bones.
Immediate aftermath and emergency surgery
Mark was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where he was placed in a coma to protect his brain. His right eye was so severely damaged it had to be removed. Surgeons reconstructed his face using broken bone fragments and metal plates, describing it as like a jigsaw puzzle. He also suffered diffuse axonal injuries and two subarachnoid haemorrhages — bleeds on the brain — resulting in permanent cognitive impairment.
Rachel Ludlow, 56, his wife and former medical secretary, received a call from Staffordshire Police mid-afternoon on the day of the accident. "In that moment, I just went into panic mode," she recalled. "I was hyperventilating, and the police were waiting for me when we got home." She was taken to the hospital where Mark was being stabilised.
Long road to recovery
After a week, sedation was lifted, and Mark battled infections requiring multiple antibiotics. He showed faint signs of awareness, such as squeezing a nurse's hand. Rachel read from her hospital diary: "12th December. Phoned for an update. Nurse told Mark I loved him. She saw a tear roll down his cheek." He was later transferred to a rehabilitation hospital.
Upon discharge, significant home modifications were needed, including converting the garage into a downstairs wet room and the dining room into a bedroom with a hospital bed. Mark can now manage a few steps independently, operate an electric wheelchair, and speak short sentences, but struggles with communication and emotional control. He remains dependent for feeding and toileting.
Financial strain and loss of income
Before the accident, the couple's combined income was £4,000 a month. Now they rely on £1,300 from Personal Independence Payments (PIP), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), and carer's allowance. Rachel quit her job to become Mark's full-time carer. "The accident turned our world upside down in an instant," she said. "I still remember getting the call where I was told Mark had been in an accident and was 'alive but critical'."
Impact on daily life and relationship
Rachel describes Mark as a different person now. "He has lost all sense of sensitivity, everything now is just factual. He can't show emotions and we can't have normal conversations," she explained. "The demands of me are quite challenging, he is not aggressive but very persistent, it can be a little suffocating. It's like having a young child." She hopes sharing their story raises awareness about traumatic brain injuries. "All we can do is take it one step at a time, and we live in hope that maybe one day things will get better."
