DOUBLE Olympic gold medallist James Cracknell, who is due to meet Prince Harry in Nottingham, knows the effects of a brain injury all too well.
On July 20, 2010 the championship rower was attempting to cycle, run, row and swim between Los Angeles and New York in just 16 days.
But while cycling through Arizona, James was hit from behind by a petrol tanker travelling at more than 65mph, the tanker's wing mirror smashing against the back of his head.
His helmet – made by Merida Bicycles Ltd, of Wilford – saved his life. Even with the helmet, James was in intensive care for a week. He had fractured the base of his skull and suffered frontal lobe damage and spent the next three months on a neuro-trauma recovery ward.
While there he began to relearn basic cognitive skills before returning home.
It is at this point that Headway got involved.
The charity supported James and his wife Beverley Turner throughout his recovery.
But as with most brain trauma, the effects for James are long term and the injury has damaged his short-term memory and made him quick-tempered. He said: "I can walk, I can talk and I have two healthy kids and a gorgeous wife but no one can see what is going on under the surface.
"I can't multi-task. I become frustrated quickly and I can't plan things logically."
