Brain injury video wins major prize

An Edinburgh charity has won a prestigious prize for a video which explains the impact of brain injury.

Members from brain injury charity Edinburgh Headway Group won first prize winner at the UKABIF short film awards for their video, Nothing Short of a Lifeline.

The emotive video, which was created using the powerful experiences from brain injury survivors, their carers and loved ones, sheds light on just how lives and futures can be altered in an instant as a result of sustaining a brain injury.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU26UqAGHOY]

Ann Dow’s husband Gilbert sustained a traumatic brain injury after a stroke in 2008 on New Year’s Day.

She said: “I was upstairs and Gilbert was bringing me a cup of tea. I heard a crash and I thought he had just dropped the cup, but when I went to investigate he was lying at the bottom of the stairs.

“Since then our lives have been completely different and I have had to become his full-time carer. I have lost my soulmate of over 30 years and it has been very hard to come to terms with.

“You can get quite low. It is heartbreaking and depressing, but Edinburgh Headway Group has been there for both me and Bert.”

Ann, 70, from Edinburgh’s Stenhouse area, said: “Brain injuries are often misunderstood and people don’t realise how isolating it can be for people and their family.”

Michelle Keenan, chief executive officer of Edinburgh Headway Group, said: “The experiences of those affected by brain injury are unique but, with the right help and support at the right time, there can be life afterwards.”