Zannah Nielsen

Recent high-profile campaigns to encourage cyclists and skiers to wear helmets are helping Headway to achieve its aim of reducing the incidence of brain injury. But horse riders also need to ensure they're properly protected, as Zannah Nielsen's story demonstrates.

I was enjoying a pleasant summer's evening ride with my friend Sue. We were talking about my upcoming year abroad in Granada, Spain, when disaster struck.

My horse tripped and sent me somersaulting from the saddle. I landed on my head in the middle of a farm track and was immediately knocked unconscious. In an instant, my promising future was thrown into jeopardy.

Being on horseback is the last thing I remember until five weeks after the accident. After being in an induced coma for four days, I spent the best part of a month drifting in and out of consciousness. In the beginning, for the fleeting moments I was awake, I felt agitated and uncomfortable.

Although on the surface I had nothing more than a badly-bruised knee, the head injury and coma left me needing to re-learn physical activity of every kind, almost as if I was a toddler again.

It was the love and support of my family that got me through. My parents, siblings and boyfriend remained stoically good-humoured and kept my spirits up. I told myself I'd be fine and I was determined to keep the fight alive in me.

I eventually left the hospital in a wheelchair, but walked back in a week later to continue my physiotherapy. Being back at home helped immeasurably, with a loving family around me and a sympathetic group of friends helping me to slowly rebuild my
social life.

For the rest of the summer I battled with fatigue but I was determined to make the journey to Granada to continue my degree. It was a daunting decision, but one I feel was worthwhile, despite having to combine the pressures of studying with the need to rest and recuperate.

In the years that have passed I've gone on to make a full recovery, although I have noticed a change in myself; having always been a linguist I am now a business analyst, dealing with complex spreadsheets and having to concentrate on numbers.

In 2009, ten years after the accident, I decided to mark the anniversary of the accident by running the London Marathon for Headway, which I did in April 2010 - raising nearly £2,000 in the process.

Headway's services are incredibly important to many people with brain injury. I was fortunate to have a strong personal support network to help my recovery, but others are not so lucky. For those people, Headway can be a lifeline.

I hope my story will encourage others to wear a protective hat while riding a horse or pony. I hate to think what would have happened to me had I not been wearing mine that day.