A DAD who took almost a decade to recover from a devastating brain injury is now helping other patients to rehabilitate.

Billy Steele, 52, spent almost three years in hospital, including three months in a coma, after he was knocked down by a car in Glasgow in 2009.

After lengthy treatment, he went home, but said he struggled to fit into normal life again.

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Mr Steele said: “When you have a brain injury, you are no longer the person you were before. You are carrying an invisible wound.

“People suffer from severe memory loss and many individuals’ personalities change. You might be physically ready to leave the hospital, but for many the mental struggles they will face are colossal.”

The death of his partner Lee, following a cancer battel, hampered Mr Steele’s recovery, but he hailed his two sons as his ‘beacons of hope’.

Struggling with confidence and socialising, Mr Steele finally discovered Quarriers

Renfrewshire Head Injury Service which offers support to people recovering from serious injury.

After a series of sessions, Mr Steele now acts as an intermediary when Quarriers specialists first meet someone with a brain injury.

The 52-year-old helps to translate the way a person is feeling and identify the appropriate type of care for them.

He said: “After spending time with Margaret McIntyre at the service, she recognised my passion for helping people in my situation and asked if I would be a brain injury mentor.

“I help people in this brutal situation find the Quarriers Head Injury Service and I’m here to bring them hope. 

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“Once you’ve suffered from a brain injury you’re different. My friends were telling me about my best friend’s wedding because I had no recollection of it - they told me I’d been the best man, it was heartbreaking.”