In early 2011 I was struck by the first of two brain haemorrhages. I am hardly unique or alone in that. 1 in 3 people will suffer a brain injury in their lifetime. That number is huge. It’s almost double the number of people who will develop dementia. It’s shocking to me - and you too, probably - that such a common health problem is so little known and barely spoken about. I made a full recovery but many more people don't, and I want to break the silence on this common, silent and devastating condition.

When you suffer a brain injury your life is saved by emergency medical services, but in most countries, ongoing recovery care can be hard to find, extremely limited or simply unavailable. We need to change that. It’s why I founded SameYou and campaign for your support.

One year on, I am pleased to report that - together with your support - we are making valuable progress. Our fundraising in 2019 is now helping global leaders in research and training to gain a better understanding of the unmet needs of people living with brain injuries, and develop better recovery care and therapies.

I’m really proud of you all. The road ahead - like the road to recovery - is a long one, but in 2020 and beyond, we’re going to achieve even more.

Thank you for your support.

Brain Injury: The invisible healthcare crisis we can’t ignore

Brain injury represents a global health problem bigger than dementia - but still many people remain unaware of the sheer scale of the problem. Brain injuries are so widespread it is genuinely shocking that brain injury recovery services remain practically non-existent compared to more visible chronic health problems. For millions worldwide - survivors, their families and carers - the lack of brain injury provision is nothing short of an invisible healthcare crisis.

There’s an outdated stigma attached to brain injury. Negative terms like ‘brain damage’ don’t help. We have to break that down by encouraging people to speak out about their experiences. I spoke out because I was aware that other people like me felt they couldn’t, and if I could lend my voice to theirs then together we could make people with brain injuries visible. The first step is to smash through the stigma to transform recovery care.

People used to think - and many still do - that brain injuries are either one-off events that heal-up over time like broken limbs, or a catastrophe from which you’ll never recover. The truth is like your brain - much more complex than that. Most leading neuroscientists agree we haven’t discovered the most effective therapies for the long term physical, mental and behavioural problems that make brain injury recovery so difficult. They also agree that with research, we could achieve levels of recovery previously thought to be impossible. SameYou is working to turn that hope into reality.

SameYou. Needs You. Thank You.