Life Changing

It was September 2000 when Lisa and her 10-year-old brother Gary were taken to the airport. Their Dad said they were going on holiday and that mum Tracey was going to join them later, just as soon as she could get time off work. As the children boarded the plane full of expectations for the trip they could not know how profoundly this moment would shape the rest of their lives – they were soon told Tracey had died and there was no point ever going back to England.Dr Sian Williams hears about Lisa’s struggles to adapt to a new life in Pakistan, trying to keep memories of home and her mum alive but falling into despair and loneliness. Meeting her Mum again and returning to England aged 17 comes with a whole new set of challenges.This story is told from two perspectives, to hear mum Tracey’s experience scroll back to the previous episode.

Tracey knew something was wrong the moment she got to the house. The place was empty, the children were gone and so was her husband Taz. Their marriage had broken down and they were going through divorce proceedings. Then she got a text message from him: ‘Gary and Lisa say goodbye forever.’ They’d been taken to Pakistan. Tracey enlisted the police, the Foreign Office and Interpol but in the absence of an agreement between Pakistan and England about parental child abduction cases — they were powerless. Tracey was advised not to travel to Pakistan and she had no idea where to start looking for them anyway. Dr Sian Williams hears what Tracey went through in the decade it took for her to find her children, and the complicated aftermath. In the next episode Sian talks to Lisa, Tracey’s daughter, to hear the story from her point of view.

Jason and Liz met by chance whilst travelling, they fell in love and within a year were engaged and expecting a child. 365 days after that first meeting, Jason woke up from a coma. He had suffered a devastating brain injury which meant he would have to learn to walk again just as his son was taking his first steps. As a couple, Jason and Liz Le Masurier had to navigate a new and unexpected course. They tell their story to Dr Sian Williams.

What do you do, if falling in love with someone becomes a matter of life or death? In 2013 Aderonke Apata found herself on a coach in the UK, heading for the airport, about to be deported to Nigeria. She’d left her home country years earlier in fear for her life. Her ‘crime’ was that she loved another woman. Same-sex couples in Nigeria face jail time from the courts and, in Aderonke's situation, the threat of deadly violence at the hands of mobs. As she got on the coach the documents that Aderonke had painstakingly compiled to stop her deportation were still being furiously faxed to the authorities.At the eleventh hour she was given a reprieve — and so her legal training had begun. She would successfully fight her own case and find herself a new career in the process. Aderonke tells her story to Dr Sian Williams.

Electra Rhodes, a courageous bystander and recent first aid course graduate, shares her gripping story of performing CPR on a man who collapsed on a busy London street. Her quick thinking sparks a chain reaction that dramatically alters the lives of multiple people. From unexpected emotional connections to the profound impact of a single decision, Electra reveals how a moment of urgency can reshape relationships and perspectives. This narrative emphasizes the far-reaching effects of compassion, intervention, and the power of second chances.

It’s 2011 and Nicola Shaughnessy is on her way to an academic conference when she stops to buy herself some lunch. As she reaches for a sandwich she suddenly hears a familiar voice from her childhood. That moment and that voice lead to years of psychiatric care and upheaval but ultimately to answers and a better understanding of herself. Now a university professor, she tells her story to Dr Sian Williams. BBC Action Line support:Autism: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2637nQGtTK1D8YPkCSnlyDN/information-and-support-autismEating disorders: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2DRkg4JC7SLT3B7hlrn6DKN/information-and-support-eating-disorders

Steven Brosnan found himself in a bit of a rut, living at home and moving from job to job. Then, in 2012, on his 22nd birthday catastrophic events take place; rather than enjoying a pop concert with his brother he finds himself having to make apparent life-or-death decisions. Ten years later he tells Dr Sian Williams his unique story and the unexpectedly positive consequences those 48 hours had on his outlook. Producer: Thomas Harding Assinder with Edgar Maddicott

In the late 1950s a newspaper ran this small ad: 'Can Catholic people in London or the Home Counties offer a permanent home for an attractive baby girl aged one year who is above average intelligence?’ That girl was Teresa Weiler, who was subsequently adopted and raised in a loving family home. Twenty years later she went to read her adoption file. Alone in a room with those documents and totally unprepared, she discovered a terrible secret about her birth parents that would reverberate through her whole life and lead her to make a profound decision. Yet she told no-one about it for decades. Dr Sian Williams hears her story.

In this heartfelt discussion, Kieran Quinlan, a former aspiring boxer turned resilience advocate, shares his extraordinary journey of survival after a life-threatening stabbing incident. He recounts the terrifying moments of the attack and his struggle for life, including the profound impact on his mental health. Twelve years later, Kieran reveals how he transformed his trauma into a passion for helping others and his mission to create a supportive gym environment. His story is one of hope, perseverance, and the human spirit's ability to overcome adversity.

Life Changing returns with more extraordinary real-life stories.