Raina Heverin survived a 40ft fall from a balcony while sleepwalking during a family holiday (Image: Raina Heverin / SWNS)
A mum-of-two narrowly escaped death after plunging 40ft from a balcony while sleepwalking on holiday in Paris – only to wake from a three-week coma with a life-changing brain injury.
Raina Heverin, 44, from Liverpool, suffered catastrophic injuries when she fell from a Juliet balcony into a courtyard during a family trip to the French capital in April last year.
The mum-of-two sustained a bleed on the brain, a punctured lung, a broken hip, arm and ribs after plunging two storeys while staying in a holiday apartment with her brother and sister-in-law.
The Liverpool mum spent three weeks in a coma (Image: Raina Heverin / SWNS)
Remarkably, doctors believe her active lifestyle helped save her life, but Raina has no memory of the fall.
“I was in Paris for a long weekend with my brother and sister-in-law,” she told Manchester Evening News.
“We had spent the day walking around Paris – it was awesome. We had food and went everywhere. We went back to the apartment at about midnight, but I don’t remember anything after that.”
The terrifying incident unfolded on April 26, 2025, after Raina swapped bedrooms with her brother and sister-in-law because traffic noise outside her original room had kept her awake.
Their quieter room overlooked an internal courtyard and featured a Juliet balcony. Raina believes she was sleepwalking when she somehow fell from the open window during the night.
At around 6am, her brother noticed her bedroom door standing open and initially assumed she had gone out for an early morning run.
But when he spotted her trainers still inside the room and saw the window open, he looked down into the courtyard below. There, he found his sister lying motionless.
A neighbour helped the family call an ambulance, and Raina was rushed to hospital with devastating injuries.
“I had a broken arm and a big scar down my arm, I broke my hip, I punctured my lung, I had lots of broken ribs,” she said.
“If I had been found a few hours later, I definitely wouldn’t be here.”
Raina spent three weeks in a coma and two months in hospital in France before she was well enough to return to the UK.
She later underwent further treatment at Whiston Hospital before spending five months at Broadgreen Hospital and eventually moving into a specialist brain injury rehabilitation unit.
Raina has written a children’s book to help her son and daughter understand her brain injury (Image: Raina Heverin / SWNS)
Before the accident, Raina balanced raising her two children, Cian, 10, and Aliyah, eight, with running two businesses.
She exercised every day, regularly completing 10km runs, cycling, lifting weights and attending fitness classes.
Doctors in France later told her family that her exceptional fitness had played a crucial role in helping her survive the devastating fall.
Despite pulling through, Raina was diagnosed with ataxia, a neurological condition that affects balance, coordination and movement, alongside a traumatic brain injury.
She now experiences tremors affecting her hands, body and throat and has had to relearn many everyday tasks.
“It’s hard for me to do normal things – like putting on mascara or holding a cup of coffee,” she said.
“Putting make-up on takes a lot longer. I had to re-learn how to do everything.”
The first thing she remembers after waking from her coma was seeing her husband, Michael, sitting beside her reading aloud.
“I remember a bit, but I was very disorientated,” she said.
“I didn’t know what the hell had happened.”
More than a year later, Raina admits she is still coming to terms with the dramatic change in her life.
“I think I’m still grieving my old life,” she said.
“I feel lucky and unlucky. I still feel like I’m in 2025, but it is a year and four months later. The world has kept turning while I’ve been in hospital.”
Determined to find something positive from her experience, Raina has written a children’s book to help Cian and Aliyah understand her brain injury and why their mum has changed.
She has also raised more than £4,000 for Liverpool-based charity The Brain Charity by completing a remarkable 5km walking challenge, walking 40 laps of her garden over four days with support from family and friends.
“It feels like a massive achievement,” she said. “I’m excited for the future, because I know it can only get better.”
Now, she hopes her story will encourage others facing long rehabilitation journeys not to lose hope.
“Don’t give up, keep going,” she said.
“You’re going to have some bad days, but you’re going to have good days too. There’s a life that’s worth living.”