Carolyn Molloy

With the government releasing new statistics showing a rise in the number of cyclists being killed or seriously injured, Carolyn Molloy provides a timely reminder of why cyclists should wear helmets.

My husband John and I have a milk round in our local area. Every Friday night for the past 10 years, I have gone out on my bike to collect the money. I never used to wear a cycle helmet; after all, I am 48 and a safe cyclist.

On Friday 10 April - Good Friday - I was out collecting as normal when it began to rain. My bike slipped and I fell, banging the right-hand side of my head on the road. I got myself up and rang John who came to pick me up. At the time, I just felt a bit shaken.

The following morning, I had a black eye but I managed to go shopping and carry on as normal. However, I woke up on Sunday morning with a splitting headache and spent most of the day on the sofa.

At 5pm, my daughters arrived home and began to chat to me. I was slurring my speech and my face was twitching but fortunately, my oldest daughter is a physiotherapist and was quick to notice the signs of a head injury.

I was rushed to hospital where a CT scan revealed I had a blood clot in the temporal lobe. The scans were faxed to The Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield and, at 3am, John and I were rushed over there by ambulance.

Luckily I cannot remember much of this as I was drifting in and out of consciousness. I was taken to theatre and a hole was cut in my skull to enable them to drain the blood clot. I remained in intensive care for several days.

When I eventually came round, my family were warned I might not recognise them and that my left side might not work. I regret the pain and worry I put them through. How I wish I'd worn a cycle helmet; I would never have believed that this could happen simply by falling off my bike.

Over the following days the strength in my left side returned due to the excellent care I received from the neurology team at The Royal Hallamshire Hospital and the love and support from my family and friends.

I received almost 400 get well cards, many of them bringing a tear to my eye; they really encouraged me and helped me on my road to recovery.

A few of the ladies on my ward had young children and told them that this is what could happen if they didn't wear their helmets. If using me as an example convinced them that they should wear a helmet then I was happy.

Now, seven months on, I'm recovering slowly. Like many people who sustain a brain injury, I suffer from severe fatigue. I also have balance problems and struggle with my language skills; I often struggle to find the right words or get my sentences jumbled-up so I say entirely the wrong thing.

It makes me cringe to see people cycling without helmets. 'If only they knew', I think to myself. I strongly believe that cycle helmets should be made compulsory.

We are all vulnerable, no matter how safe we think we are.