Life can change in the blink of an eye. Dusty Zeisberger knows that more than most – because when a freak accident struck his family one day in April 2022, nothing was ever the same again.
His musician dad, Horst Zeisberger, was carrying a speaker down a hill on his way to a gig when he suddenly slipped. He tumbled down the slope and hit his head on the roof of a building below.
Horst was rushed to hospital where it was discovered he had a bleed on his brain. Medics immediately placed him in a coma in a bid to save his life.
After four agonising days, Dusty, from Salford, remembers his dad waking up. He couldn’t move or speak. It took two weeks for Horst to make a single sound as he desperately tried to communicate.
He remained in hospital for four months until finally being allowed home. Unfortunately, the brain injury has left Horst partially paralysed on his right-hand side. To this day, he still struggles with speech.
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“It was an awful time for us all,” Dusty, 31, said. “Dad has become a different person since the accident in terms of communication and thinking.
“He is currently suffering from depression, which has impacted his relationships with his partner and with my brother. There are often outbursts of anger and frustration which I assume are due to the feelings of helplessness.”
Horst's brain injury has impacted his ability to live an independent life, and he now lives in a nursing home. Dusty says he is desperate to live in his own home again but there isn't the support for his condition to make it possible.
“He recently started being able to shuffle with his 'bad' leg but fell over, so his confidence is low, and he is scared to try to walk again,” Dusty added.
“He has now been diagnosed with carpal tunnel in the wrist that he can move, so his chances of living semi-independently are very small.
“Before my dad sustained his brain injury, he was an extremely independent, active, and caring individual. He worked for Mercedes Benz for 52 years and has been a musician since he was a teenager, playing multiple instruments and singing in bands.
“He retired a few years before the injury and had plans to move to Germany and travel Europe, living a life of adventure and relaxation.”
Dusty is now determined to use his family’s challenging experiences to make a positive difference to the lives of others living with brain injuries.
On December 2, 2022, he took on the physical and mental challenge of running for 24 hours on a treadmill in support of Headway, the brain injury association.
Dusty is raising funds to help Headway continue its work supporting brain injury survivors and their families, campaigning for brain injury prevention and awareness.
“I’ve always believed that we are capable of so much more than we imagine,” he said. “This has just shown me how quickly our abilities can be taken away from us.
Donations can be made to Dusty's fundraising page here. He also documented his journey on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok under 'Dusty Zeisberger' and @thedustycoach.
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