A teenager suffered a horrific brain injury after smashing her head on a toilet door during a night out.
Lottie Butler, 18, was out with her boyfriend when she fell and fractured her skull - leaving her with debilitating post-concussion syndrome.
The sixth form student, from Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, say despite not fully remembering what happened, the injury has turned her life upside down.
She said: "I remember banging my head on the door as I left the toilet cubicle, then the next thing I know, I was surrounded by the student union's emergency medical staff.
"It was really frustrating because everyone just assumed I'd had too much to drink that night and that's why I fell and hit my head, when in reality I was sober."
She now struggles with the hidden effects of her injury, including memory loss, difficulties concentrating and above all, fatigue, reports Nottinghamshire Live .
Lottie, of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, added: "For the first few months following my brain injury I couldn't go to sixth form at all because the process of travelling there, socialising with friends and learning was just too exhausting," said Lottie.
"Now, I find myself sleeping through days on end after being at sixth form for just a few hours."
All of the side-effects have had an adverse affect on her education.
She added: "My education has suffered so much as a result of my fatigue. My attendance at sixth form is 40 percent which means I miss a lot of the content.
"It's really frustrating. Just because I look well physically, it doesn't mean I'm not struggling."
She is currently in her second year at sixth form and hopes to go on to study psychology and sociology at university, however she worries that her ongoing battle will stand in her way.
She said: "I'm worried that my fatigue will stop me from enjoying the typical university experience and everything that comes with it, from the long lectures to late nights partying.
"I don't want to undo the progress I've already made, but I want to be able to do the same things other people my age do.”
She has decided to share her story as part of Headway's Brain Drain: Wake up to fatigue awareness campaign.
Fatigue – or excessive tiredness – is one of the most commonly experienced effects of brain injury.
It is the most commonly cited effect of brain injury reported by the 11,000 callers to Headway’s helpline each year.
A study released as part of the campaign and to mark Action for Brain injury Week 2019 has shown the issue of chronic fatigue is widely misunderstood, often leading to brain injury survivors feeling social isolated and being discriminated against.
Peter McCabe, the chief executive of Headway, said: “It is clear that there is a distinct lack of understanding of pathological fatigue across the UK.
“As a society, we need to wake up and recognise the debilitating effects fatigue can have on people living with the long-term effects of brain injury. It’s very concerning that so many of the people we support have told us they feel they have been unfairly treated due their condition.
“The effects of brain injury can be hidden and, as a result, widely misunderstood – even by the brain injury survivor themselves.”
