Chris Cook

On 2 August 2007, Chris Cook's life changed dramatically. The happily married father of three was working to renovate the front of his house when he was catapulted from the cherry picker platform onto the street below.

Chris spent the next three weeks in a coma, followed by a further two weeks in intensive care in Leeds General Infirmary before being transferred to York Hospital. In total, he spent three months in hospital during which time his wife, Julie, was told he wouldn't survive and was given the agonising choice of whether or not to turn off his life support machine.

"The doctors thought the injuries were far more severe than they were and I was told to decide whether or not to turn off the life support machine because he would not survive," said Julie. "I had to tell the kids that their dad was going to die."

Thankfully, a scan showed Chris's injuries were not quite as severe as first thought, sparing Julie the agonising decision. When Chris eventually woke from his coma, Julie's joy was cut short when Chris revealed he didn't know he had a son and couldn't remember Julie being pregnant.

In the past year since the accident, Chris has been working hard to get his life back with the support of loving friends and family and Headway, the national charity that works to improve life after brain injury.

Chris has made excellent progress although he still suffers from severe fatigue, bouts of emotional instability, and his short-term memory remains poor.

"When I think back to the accident, I can't believe how far I've come," said Chris. "The experts were saying to Julie that I would be in a wheelchair. But I'm not and I thank God for it.

"The accident changed my whole perspective on life and my family are now more important to me than ever. Although initially I didn't remember having a son, I have been lucky enough to spend the whole year bonding with him. It's just amazing and I adore him!"

Chris's accident understandably affected the whole family. Wife Julie said: "Everything was perfect. One minute we were in our lovely new house with a brand new baby, and looking forward to the summer holidays.

"Then it just turned into a complete nightmare. I could not have survived it without my friends and family."

Brain injury affects not only the individuals but entire families. Fortunately, the Cooks have been able to adapt and come to terms with what happened as a family, which has helped Chris with his own recovery.

Chris and Julie have since helped re-launch a York branch of Headway, while their daughter Maddie raised more than £200 for the charity by staging a 'readathon' with school friends, for which she has been nominated for Charity Fundraiser of the Year in the local newspaper's Community Pride awards.