When a brain injury happens, it can put lives on hold. It can happen to anyone, at any age, at any time. No-one ever thinks a brain injury will happen to them. One of our brain injury survivors Kieran Cullen, suffered a brain injury after a bleed on the brain caused by a road traffic accident six years ago. A talented poet, Kieran now shares the reality of what it’s like to suddenly find yourself living with a brain injury. This is Kieran’s poem, The Shock.

The Shock

Were you ever on your own, in a crowded place?

When you couldn’t hear the throng

And the ghost-like figures moved in waves

Then you knew there was something wrong

When your legs felt like feathers

And your arms were to no avail

Like a ship in the eye of a tempest

Without anchor, keel or sail

That’s the way it hits you

Then the birds come home to roost

Breathing becomes a labour

Like the tightening of a noose

A caring voice you long for

Or helping hand, to guide

But you are in isolation

Can you take this in your stride?

The next instant, you are surrounded by family

And it’s only then you know

Six weeks have been robbed in a moment

And the life you knew can never be so.