Each year in Britain, 135,000 people end up in hospital with a traumatic brain injury. Most at risk are young men, and the effects, though often hidden, can be profound and life-changing for the people affected, as well as their families and friends.
This powerful and moving Cutting Edge film follows 20-year-old Simon Hales on a remarkable journey through rehab, as he and his family come to terms with the challenges of life after brain injury.
A popular undergraduate at Newcastle University, Simon was on a night out when he and a friend tried to climb back into a nightclub they'd been thrown out of by mistake.
In the dark, Simon fell 20 feet and landed on his head, suffering a severe brain injury. He was lucky to survive, but it took Simon five weeks to wake from his coma.
Simon may look more or less 'fixed' on the outside - he is walking and talking relatively normally - but on the inside he is battling with a new and less compliant brain. And his family wants to know when they will get the 'old' Simon back. But nobody can say - with brain injury, the doctors just don't know.
My New Brain follows the progress and the struggles Simon and his family face as he's treated in a brain injury rehabilitation unit and begins his first visits home.
As well as remembering nothing of the accident, or the weeks and months before, Simon needs constant attention; his mood swings violently and his mum, Jane, says it's like having a toddler all over again, but in the body of a 20-year-old.
If you've been affected by any of the issues raised in this programme information is available at channel4.com/cuttingedge
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Series 1 Episode 1
Each year in Britain, 135,000 people end up in hospital with a traumatic brain injury. Most at risk are young men, and…
- Strong language
- This episode has subtitles available.
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