Moving into the Aspire house meant that I could take the huge responsibility of care off of my parents and get on with it. There was nothing more motivating than taking the weight of the situation from them - Stan

I’m a musician; just before my injury I was preparing to attend a Conservatoire to study music, and at the same time I was working in a bank to fund my studies. I’d gone to a family wedding and there was a tiny pool next to the hotel. Admittedly I was a little intoxicated and decided to dive in; I was stupid and I ended up banging my head on the bottom.

I had to arrange for a friend to pack up my things at the flat as I knew I wouldn't be able to go back. I lived with my cousin for a month but it was far from ideal; I lived in the front room and my dad slept on the couch. He was my first ever personal assistant. My family became very familiar and in the know on how to care for me because they were there from the start. I was basically locked up in the one room; I had to bed wash, and the door frames were too narrow to get through. The atmosphere soon became very tense, I think my cousin got fed up with us being there, she couldn’t cope with the limitations of me living in her house.

I was told the only place that could be found was a Dementia care home; I moved in because I couldn't live at my cousin’s any longer.

I left home when I was 19 so I’ve been pretty independent for a while. What hurts about the injury is the effect it had on my family; I felt so ashamed that I did this to them.

When I moved into the Aspire house it was like living the dream. It’s a beautiful environment, it’s all adapted and furnished.

And Aspire have continued to help me as I live here—the focus is on securing my own place and Aspire’s Housing Advice team are working with me on that.

Every member of my family visited me at the house for Christmas. Thanks to Aspire, I had them all round. It’s a blessing. It’s a relief that my parents can leave me and no longer have to look after their 23 year old son; they’ve benefitted as much as I have.

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