Tara Moore

Brain injury survivor Tara Moore is supporting this year’s ABI Week campaign You, me and brain injury by sharing how her relationships changed. 

Tara sustained a traumatic brain injury in a car crash in 1999. The accident left her in a coma for several months and meant her mother Denise having to put her life on hold to support her through the recovery.

She said: “My mother was a rock. She always said to me ‘she didn’t have time to break down’ but she is just being modest.

"She was by my side in intensive care every day, which put a massive strain on her business but she coped somehow.

"Every day she would visit me, read to me and tell me about her day."

Tara receiving runner up of the year for running her fitness classes in retirement housing

After Tara left hospital she had to come to terms with the effects of the brain injury which included severe mobility problems, anxiety and emotional problems.

She said: “I had my teenage years stolen from me and I was left wheelchair bound for a long time; I had to relearn everything as a baby does. 

“Prior to the accident I was an active young girl into drama, dancing and horse riding alongside many other activities. Not being able to do them hit me hard and I suffered with depression."

Again, throughout this time Tara’s mother was there, by her side, willing her on.

Tara said: "My mum has been so important to me. 

“She has been mum and dad, as well as my best friend, all the way through my recovery and life.

“She supported me to get more physically active and would take me on walks and as my movement improved, we also went swimming. These activities helped massively in helping me stay positive as it gave me an outlet for the mental side of my recovery.”

But as you would expect with the complex nature of brain injury, there were still some issues that the pair had to work through.

Tara said: “I often got frustrated and sometimes struggled to contain my temper, due to this I would clash with mum because she didn’t understand.

“This in turn would make me even more frustrated, which again would be made worse because I couldn’t express myself in the way I wanted. It was a vicious circle. But overtime mum accepted and understood, she stopped thinking of me as a stroppy teenager. We see each other as much as possible now. We are good friends.”