Teenager left with a brain injury after she got out of her head during an evening

A teenager has told how she suffered brain damage after beating her head on the door of a toilet during a sober evening.

Lottie Butler, from Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, claims that her life has been turned upside down since the accident last year.

The 18-year-old now struggles with the hidden effects of her brain injury, such as memory loss, concentration problems and fatigue.

The sixth-forming student said her schoolwork now & # 39; exhausted and tired & # 39; leave behind – and is afraid she won't be able to enjoy college when she goes.

Recalling her accident, Miss Butler, then with her boyfriend, said: "I remember slamming my head when I left the bathroom.

& # 39; Then, the next thing I know, I was surrounded by the emergency medical staff of the student union.

& # 39; It was really frustrating because everyone thought I had drunk too much that night and that's why I fell and hit my head when I was really sober. & # 39;

Doctors diagnosed her with a broken skull and post-concussion syndrome after the injury.

Miss Butler, currently in the second year of the sixth form, was unable to go to school a few months after her brain injury.

She said: & # 39; The process of traveling there, socializing with friends and learning was just too tiring.

The 18-year-old now struggles with the hidden effects of her brain injury, such as memory loss, concentration problems and fatigue

& # 39; Now I sleep for days on end after having reached the sixth form for a few hours. & # 39;

Miss Butler hopes to study psychology and sociology at the university, but is afraid that her constant struggle may stand in her way.

& # 39; My education has suffered so much from my fatigue. My presence on the sixth form is 40 percent, which means I miss out on a lot of the content, & she said.

& # 39; It is really frustrating. Just because I look good physically does not mean that I am not having a hard time.

& # 39; I'm afraid my fatigue will stop me from enjoying the typical college experience and everything that goes with it, from long lectures to partying in the late nights.

& # 39; I don't want to undo the progress I've already made, but I want to be able to do the same things that other people my age do. & # 39;

Miss Butler decided to share her story as part of Headways Brain Drain: wake up with the awareness campaign about fatigue.

Fatigue – or excessive fatigue – is one of the most common effects of brain injury.

It is the most-cited effect of brain injury reported by the 11,000 callers to the Headway helpline every year.

A survey published as part of the campaign to indicate Action for Brain injury Week 2019 has shown that chronic fatigue is widely misunderstood.

The charity claims that this often leads to brain injury survivors who feel socially isolated and discriminated against.

Peter McCabe, the chief executive of Headway, said: “It is clear that there is a clear lack of understanding of pathological fatigue in the UK.

& # 39; As a society, we need to wake up and recognize the debilitating effects that fatigue can have on people living with the long-term effects of brain injury.

& # 39; It is very worrying that so many people we support have told us they feel they have been treated unfairly because of their condition.

& # 39; The effects of brain injury can be hidden and therefore widely misunderstood – even by the survivor of brain damage itself. & # 39;