US Hairy Bikers on why they make a good team

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The Hairy Bikers are undeniably one of the best-known cooking double acts on TV. Having known each other since the 1990s, the pair have found fame after hosting their own BBC cooking show, The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook, and have never looked back since. Their most recent festive adventure sees the chefs create a whole feast inspired by the north of England. Meeting some of the best food artisans and producers, before creating their own Christmas dinner feast for their nearest and dearest. Most recently, Si has been battling a bout of Covid, meaning he missed out on some on-air appearances. Thankfully co-star Dave was on hand to explain that he was “getting better,” a stark difference from 2014, when Si was left fighting for his life in hospital.

What started as severe headaches, soon turned out to be a deadly brain aneurysm that Si, whose full name is Simon, needed emergency treatment for.

With his family by his side, along with closest friend Dave, who held his hand just before the procedure took place, Si counts himself as an “incredibly lucky man”.

Speaking in an interview with The Mail, Si said: “I’m an incredibly lucky man to even be here today to talk about it. I can’t thank the doctors and nurses enough.”

If the chef hadn’t received treatment when he did, there was a risk that he could have suffered from a stroke, which he recalled “would’ve meant curtains”.

Reflecting on when his ordeal began, Si said that he had been having severe headaches for four days, then suddenly symptoms got progressively worse.

“Everything just started to fall off the bottom of the TV,” he said. “I thought, ‘I’m in trouble here.’ Then I had this searing pain – the only way to describe it was like someone was going at my head with a rusty nail and a hammer.

“It’s an incredibly scary thing. More people die from this type of thing than survive.”

Frightened and concerned, it wasn’t long before Si was being checked over by medical professionals, an experience that he remembers as “all hell [breaking] loose”.

The motorbike enthusiast said: “When I got to hospital all hell broke loose. The doctors did a lumbar puncture and found blood in my spinal fluid.

“At that point they grew really worried – I had to sign a load of forms to say I understood I may make it, or I may not.

“It’s not just the ‘am I going to die here?’ thing. It’s the knowledge that even if you don’t die, you can be left with damage to the brain.”

A brain aneurysm is caused by a bulge in a blood vessel, that is caused by a weakness in the vessel wall. As blood passes through this weakened area, the blood pressure causes a small area to bulge outwards like a balloon.

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Most brain aneurysms are only noticeable if they burst, causing symptoms. A ruptured brain aneurysm can cause extensive brain damage and is an urgent medical condition.

Symptoms that can occur due to a ruptured brain aneurysm include the following:

• A sudden agonising headache – it’s been described as a “thunderclap headache”, similar to a sudden hit on the head, resulting in a blinding pain unlike anything experienced before
• A stiff neck
• Sickness and vomiting
• Pain while looking at light.

The condition is so severe that the NHS explains that about three in five people who suffer a ruptured brain aneurysm, known professionally as a subarachnoid haemorrhage, die within two weeks.

Unruptured brain aneurysms can occasionally still cause symptoms, especially if they are particularly large, or press against tissue or nerves inside of the brain. Although rare, symptoms of an unruptured brain aneurysm include the following:

• Visual disturbances, such as loss of vision or double vision
• Pain above or around your eye
• Numbness or weakness on one side of your face
• Difficulty speaking
• Headaches
• Loss of balance
• Difficulty concentrating or problems with short-term memory.

After four days in intensive care, Si was back on his beloved motorbike within four weeks of his surgery.

“The consultant surgeon who did my operation told me that I’d suffered a massive trauma,” he added, during the 2016 interview. “He said I’d lost 20 percent of myself and not to do much. He said I’d basically got away with it. And my God, have I got away with it.”

Si was extremely fortunate to not have suffered from any ongoing side effects after his brain aneurysm, as others have not been so lucky. The Brain Aneurysm Foundation explains that individuals can experience persistent difficulties with focus, memory or cognition, whereas others continue to suffer from chronic headaches and a loss of balance and coordination.

The NHS goes on to explain the best ways to prevent brain aneurysms, or reduce the risk of an aneurysm growing any bigger if treatment is not yet required, which includes:

• Quitting smoking
• Eating a low-fat diet
• Controlling high blood pressure
• Being a healthy weight.

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