A 44-year-old mother from Liverpool remains on a challenging path to recovery after falling approximately 40 feet from a balcony in Paris, an incident believed to have occurred while she was sleepwalking. The fall, which happened during a holiday with her brother and sister-in-law, left Raina Heverin in a coma for three weeks and caused multiple serious injuries including a brain bleed, a punctured lung, a broken hip, arm, and several ribs.

Heverin had been staying in a quieter room at the back of an apartment with a Juliet balcony after swapping bedrooms with her relatives to avoid noise from traffic at the front. Early one morning, her brother discovered the bedroom door and window open and found her motionless in the courtyard below. A neighbour assisted in calling emergency services.

Following the accident, Heverin underwent two months of treatment in hospital facilities in France. Upon returning to Merseyside, she spent time at Whiston Hospital and Broadgreen Hospital before transferring to a specialised brain injury rehabilitation unit. Medical professionals diagnosed her with ataxia, a neurological disorder that affects balance, coordination, muscle movement, and causes tremors in her hands, body, and throat.

Prior to the accident, Heverin was an active individual who managed two businesses and regularly engaged in running, cycling, and weightlifting. Her physical fitness was credited by a doctor as a factor that likely contributed to her survival. However, the injury has significantly impacted her daily life, making routine tasks such as applying mascara or holding a cup difficult.

Heverin described the emotional toll of the experience, noting the ongoing process of adjusting to her new circumstances. Her first memory after waking from the coma involved her husband, Michael, reading aloud to her. To help her children, aged 10 and 8, understand the changes she is undergoing, she authored a book explaining her brain injury.

In addition to focusing on her recovery, Heverin has actively raised funds for The Brain Charity, a Liverpool-based organisation supporting people with brain injuries. She completed a personal challenge by walking 40 laps of her garden over four days, covering the equivalent of 5 kilometers and raising more than £4,000 with the help of family and friends.

Heverin has expressed mixed feelings, acknowledging both gratitude for surviving and sorrow over the life she has lost. She described her fundraising accomplishment as a significant milestone in her rehabilitation journey.