Raina Heverin, a 44-year-old mother of two, sustained a severe brain injury after falling approximately 40 feet from a third-floor balcony in Paris on April 26, 2023. She was discovered the following morning by her brother, who initially believed she was asleep in the courtyard below.

Heverin recounted to the BBC that she had been disoriented and had not slept the night before her fall. She believes she was sleepwalking when she fell from the Juliet balcony of her rental property. "I fell out of the window… three storeys into the courtyard," she told the outlet. She has no memory of returning to the property on the day of the incident, recalling only walking down the street before a period of memory loss.

The fall resulted in a broken arm, a broken hip, and bleeding on her brain stem, which affected her speech and movement. She remained in a coma for nearly three weeks, requiring mechanical assistance for breathing. Upon waking in the hospital, she recalled her husband reading to her.

While Heverin was hospitalized, French authorities questioned her brother and sister-in-law about the incident. She was transported back to the UK in June 2023 and has since been undergoing rehabilitation at a brain injury hospital.

A fundraiser established by her friend Rachel Bryan described Heverin as returning "incredibly weak, unable to stand, and needing to learn how to talk and walk again." Bryan added that Heverin required assistance with basic daily tasks.

Heverin has since been diagnosed with ataxia, a neurological condition that can affect balance, coordination, speech, and eye movements. Approximately 150,000 people in the United States are affected by ataxia, according to the University of Florida Health.

Describing the impact of her injury, Heverin noted that everyday activities, such as applying makeup or drinking coffee, have become challenging due to hand tremors. Once an active entrepreneur and mother, she expressed grief over the loss of her previous life and the adjustments required after sustaining a brain injury.

Despite her challenges, Heverin has engaged in recovery efforts, including a charity walk. She completed a three-mile walk over five days and is now working towards completing the same distance in a single day, stating, "If you work hard and you try, you'll get somewhere closer to who you used to be."