We've asked visitors to The Head Injury Site to share their experiences of head injury and the surrounding issues. Here are just a few of the stories that we've received:
Sindy Carmichael-Brown's Story
"I recently had a passenger on a flight drop something from an overhead locker on my head. I was taken by ambulance from the flight and since the accident I have suffered headaches, poor vision and a loss of smell.
"I went back to work but the headaches and problems with my vision, along with severe tiredness, led to me collapsing and being taken to hospital again by ambulance.
"My vision is getting better but I still have problems focusing. I have been signed off work for 4 weeks and told to rest.
"I had a bad turn at the weekend when trying to collect some leaves in the garden, the bending down made me very dizzy and sick. I cannot believe how tired I feel all the time and how my personality has changed from the bubbly person I usually am."
Tim Collins's Story
"When I was 23 I suffered my brain injury. I had just started a new job as a mental health nurse at my home in Scotland, and was driving home from work in November 2007 on my motorbike when a drunk pedestrian caused me to swerve and crash.
"My crash helmet disintegrated, leaving me with a very serious traumatic brain injury. I was rushed to the nearest hospital in Dundee where I had the right side of my skull removed to reduce the effects of brain swelling.
"Thankfully this worked but I was left paralysed down the entire left hand side of my body. I subsequently learned to walk with the help of intensive physio however even now, 18 months after my injury I remain almost totally paralysed in my left arm.
"I have been forced to hand in my notice and so lost my job, which I very much enjoyed. Now I struggle day to day with clinical depression, seizures and muscle cramps. I live alone, having separated from my partner.
"I am unsure about what the future may hold for me which is not really helping my mood! But I am sometimes hopeful that things can only get better as surely they can’t get worse – or can they?"