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n June 19 1995 I had an accident at work while storing some wood on a storage frame. The storage frame was 6ft high on a platform which was itself 10ft high. I cannot remember anything about the accident and can only go on what people have told me. Although no-one saw the accident it is clear that somehow I lost my footing and fell off the frame to the platform which couldn't take the force of my fall and I pierced the floor and landed on the concrete below. Work-mates below the platform saw my eyes close and I began to shake violently. I was placed in the recovery position until the ambulance arrived. My injuries were whiplash, cracked ribs, cuts and bruises, and a fractured skull from the right occipital lobe to the right frontal lobe. Since the accident I have suffered numerous problems related to the TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) which I suffered in the fall.

Before the accident we very happy. I was very fit and studied martial arts. Evelyn and I had only been married 9 months previous to the accident, our careers where going well and our lives together were just starting.

After the accident I was very confused, not knowing what had happened, or why I was in hospital. I was in and out of consciousness for 48 hrs each time asking my wife Evelyn "what happened?" For 5 weeks I was steadily improving and the 6th week I tried to "get back on the horse" and go back to work with a "die hard" attitude. It was then I knew the extent of my problems and have had to learn to live with them.

My problems were lack of temper control, marked fatigue, depression, tinitus, mood swings, true vertigo, dizziness and head-pains. All these problems required therapy and after a 6 month wait I was admitted as an out-patient at a Dundee hospital for 1 year. The therapy helped but I needed more help. Then I was lucky enough to be taken as a client at the new BIVC (Brain Injury Vocational Centre) in Fife where they are geared for helping brain injury survivors with their cognitive deficits and help them make a return to work. The help I have received there has resulted in me being capable of coping with all my problems.

The staff at the Centre includes an Occupational Therapist, Psychologist, IT Tutor and a Job Coach. Although not at the Centre anymore, I still receive support from the staff there. At the centre I researched TBI survivors problems using the Internet and brain injury organisations. It became clear that there are no structured rehabilitation programme for TBI survivors in Britain and that there is not enough public awareness of what has been dubbed the "silent epidemic."