Age: 20

Country: UK

Explanation: When I was 14, I got ill.  My head hurt a lot and I couldn’t open my eyes.  I went to hospital.  I had three big abscesses in my brain.  I had a long operation.  The doctors had to take away the left side of my skull.  I was in hospital for a long time and I had to learn to walk, talk and eat again.  I had a metal plate fitted in my head when I was 15.  When I was 19 I had a bleed on my brain after I had a seizure, then caught an infection.  I had two more big operations.  I have focal epilepsy now from the scars and damage.  I have to be looked after all the time.  I am going to a special college where they will help me learn and become more independent.