Staring at myself in the mirror, I could hardly believe what my eyes were seeing. 

Half of my short, black head of hair had been shaved off and in its place was a large, stitched up wound that stretched right across my head. 

Until that point it had felt like any other morning, but it was only now that I realised where I was: The John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.  

As I slowly took in my surroundings I felt confused, shocked and scared. What had happened? Why was I here?

By the time I made it back to my bed, it was surrounded by people I didn’t recognise – it turns out they were members of my immediate family. And then I learned the truth… 

Aged just 15 I suffered a major brain trauma and was in a coma for several days. And that would change my life, forever. 

While I have no recollection of any injury, collapsing, or the subsequent treatment, over the years and with the help of different friends and family accounts, I have slowly been able to piece together what happened.   

It all happened back in December 2005. I’d been out shopping with my mum and aunt when suddenly I collapsed out of nowhere.

At the time of my collapse, I was alone as I’d gone into a different shop to my family. As I’d been away for some time, they came to look for me and the first thing they saw as they came around the corner, were my legs on the floor.  

No one knew what had happened in the moments before that because I had fallen, in what security called a ‘CCTV blind spot’. All they could do was call for help. My poor mum just sat there waiting with me for help to come.  

From there, I was immediately taken to hospital, where I’m told a slew of tests showed I had multiple clots on the brain as well as a fractured skull. However, no one was able to determine whether I’d been born with the former, or whether I had sustained them from all the contact sports I did. 

After all, up until then, I’d been your typical, healthy teenage boy. I even had a glittering football career ahead of me.

But now that I’d woken up from the coma, and discovered the scar on my scalp from where surgeons had removed the blood clots, my healthcare team advised that the best course of action was for me to stop playing football. 

Since they’d been unable to determine what had caused my brain injury, they wanted to lessen the chance of me knocking my head – they were uncertain whether I would be as lucky to survive another injury.

So just like that, my hopes for a football career ended. I was devastated – football had been my life. 

In the weeks and months that followed I was then forced not only to come to terms with that, but also that I’d been left with huge memory gaps. To this day, I can barely remember much of that year when the injury happened.  

I was left with self-loathing, depression and hopelessness. 

Sadly, this eventually led to suicidal ideation. The side effects of the injury left me in daily pain and it was overwhelming. I started to think that things would be a lot easier if I was no longer around. 

I struggled with feeling like this right up until 2018, when I finally sought mental health therapy at age 28 – I was at breaking point.

I had experienced a physical injury, but I hadn’t realised just how much the trauma of the incident and the aftermath had impacted my mental health. Not one healthcare professional had suggested I seek support and back then – society just wasn’t as open about mental illness as we are now.

With help from my therapist I came to realise that my life was not over, I just had to learn to accept the new version of it. 

Slowly and surely, I got through it. The people in my life and my therapist reminded me that I had survived – I was still here and life is for living.  

And sure, I might not be able to play anymore, but I could still immerse myself in the footballing world by watching or coaching.   

Though I had started to feel happy again, I knew deep down I was still lacking purpose. 

That’s when a friend suggested I apply for a job at the mental health charity St Andrew’s Healthcare.

The organisation is dedicated to inspiring hope for individuals with complex mental health needs and at that time it was looking for a peer support worker to work with patients who have experienced a serious brain injury. 

Having spent most of my adolescence and early adulthood recovering from my own brain injury, I questioned whether I could do this role. But after deciding I had nothing to lose, I eventually went for it and got the job.

The work I do is very rewarding. I spend two days a week visiting a ward with patients who have also experienced brain injuries.

It’s my job to support and coach them to achieve their full potential. We sit and chat about their concerns and worries and I try to be a beacon of hope to them. 

I am proof that after a head and brain injury, it is possible to still have a life and crack on with the things you enjoy, with some alterations. The patients have told me that seeing me up and about, working, dating and enjoying life gives them hope for their future.  

It was like this job was made for me. I feel like I’m making a real difference as I can truly relate; I wish there had been someone like me who I could have talked to. 

One patient I was working with had very long hair, and he confided in me that he wanted to get it cut, but he was worried his scar would be too visible.

I told him that he should be proud of his scar as it represents how he beat something that could have killed him. I told him that I wear my scar with pride, and that filled him with the confidence to get his hair cut. It was lovely to see him take pride in his appearance and no longer worry about what other people thought.

The patients also inspire me. They are all fighters, doing what they need to do for a better future. It makes me want to do the same. 

Now, I’ve learnt to accept the daily pain I experience and the headaches, which can vary in their level of severity. I still have regular scans and my medications continue to be an evolving process as my healthcare team tries out different prescriptions every few months to see which ones help the most. 

My injury is stable and I’ve made peace with the fact that if it ever got worse, I know I’ve lived a life I’m fulfilled with.  

I’m no longer ashamed of my scars. Instead they serve as a reminder that I survived, that I’m still here and able to live a happy, positive and meaningful life – with or without football.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

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Although you can get your hands on almost everything at Amazon, a new feature could see the retailer broadening its horizons even further.

Currently being trialled in the US, the ‘buy for me’ button allows customers to browse and purchase items from across the internet – even those Amazon doesn’t sell.

When searching for certain products, shoppers will be shown listings from other sites, with the option to buy the latter directly through Amazon.

Checkout will then be handled by an AI agent, which transfers over your saved payment and delivery details to process the order in just a few clicks.

In a statement, shopping director Oliver Messenger says the feature is designed to ‘make shopping even more convenient’, while ‘also giving brands increased exposure and seamless conversion.’

And if the beta test feedback is good, it may not be long before it’s available here on British shores.

Parcelhero’s head of consumer research, David Jinks M.I.L.T., welcomes a global rollout, claiming it could ‘revolutionise shopping’ and bring Amazon closer to its goal of being ‘the pipeline through which everything is bought’.

‘Ultimately, this is an innovative way of Amazon sucking more customers and sellers into its ecosphere and keeping them there,’ he adds.

‘If it does come through testing successfully and proves to be robust, it’s very likely to become a feature of everyday shopping on both sides of the Pond.’

When we can expect this to happen remains a mystery, but Metro has contacted Amazon UK for comment, and will update this piece as soon as we know more.

How Amazon ‘buy for me’ works

The ‘buy for me’ feature is integrated into Amazon’s app and website, and will show up on certain listings in a section of the search results marked ‘Shop brand sites directly.’

If a customer wants to purchase, Amazon’s announcement explains: ‘they tap on the Buy for Me button on the product detail page to request Amazon make the purchase from the brand retailer’s website on their behalf.

‘Customers are taken to an Amazon checkout page where they confirm order details, including preferred delivery address, applicable taxes and shipping fees, and payment method.

‘Using agentic AI capabilities, Amazon makes the purchase by securely providing the customer’s encrypted name, address, and payment details to complete the checkout process on the brand’s website. Amazon cannot see customers’ previous or separate orders from other brands’ sites.’

After this, shoppers will receive a confirmation email from the brand, but can track the order’s status through the Amazon app.

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Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.

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If you’re one of those people who reaches for Bailey’s or Mozart Chocolate Liqueur on Easter Sunday, you’re missing a trick.

Because, you know that drink that never sees the light of day? The one you probably didn’t even know was at the back of your drinks cupboard, hiding in plain sight. Well, it’s the wine industry’s well-kept Easter secret as the best drink to pair with chocolate, bar none.

And, I’m about to get all Antiques Road Show on you as I disclose its value…

No, I’m not talking about Advocaat or Galliano, those retro bottles gifted to you by your Ned Flanders of a neighbour, which you can’t for the life of you think what to do with. They’re the drinks equivalent of a lava lamp and have no business being near an Easter egg.

I’m referring to sherry, the Swiss army knife of a drink that comes in styles ranging from dry, cream, nutty to a version so sweet that when you drizzle it over your dessert, it becomes the dessert. Guaranteed, no other drinks journalist will be writing about sherry for Easter as they want it all for themselves. The greedy guzzle gannets.

You can forget port, it’s not Christmas, we’re looking at sherry and chocolate all the way when the bunny is in town.

Why? Because to a greater or lesser degree, all sherry styles have lightly nutty, dried fruit notes that allow them to do the cha-cha with chocolate. That’s why fruit and nut chocolate is a thing in the first place.

Do a taste test if you don’t believe me. No need to commit to an entire egg, do it with a square of chocolate first. Take a sip of sherry, keep it in your mouth for a bit then swallow it. Take a chunk of chocolate and let it melt on your tongue, and when it’s roughly two thirds melted, take another sip of sherry and let them bask on your tongue together.

Thank me later, but first, here are the sherries to sip before, during and after the kids have hunted for the eggs…

Nutty Chocolate x Cream

Try: Baron Amarillo Pale Cream Sherry, £7.69 from Aldi

Cream sherry is usually mentioned in the same sentence as ‘your granny’, but I’m not going to be so predictable. But, what is it? It’s an Oloroso sherry that’s had sugar added to it to make it significantly sweeter. If your chocolate has praline, or in this case, pistachio paste inside, these guys will mesh well. I’m clearly referring to the Dubai chocolate bar, which seems to be everywhere at the moment. They’ve now reshaped the bar into an Easter egg, which was the logical next step, let’s face it. Crunch the two together and tell me what you think.

Caramel Chocolate x Oloroso

Try: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Oloroso Sherry, £9.75, www.sainsburys.co.uk

Oloroso sherry is the full nut-fest due to its oxidative ageing, as it doesn’t have the protective layer of yeast the other styles do (flor). These wines are dry, dark in colour and super rich in style, think walnuts, dried figs and soy sauce, in a great way. Chocolate with caramel, nougat or marzipan in the mix makes a worthy pairing partner for this style of sherry. There’s a smidge of caramel flavour in the sherry too, which they both share, and together they take each other to the next level.  

White Chocolate x Moscatel

Try: Lustau Moscatel Emlin Sherry 37.5ml, £14.95, Secret Bottle Shop, www.secretbottleshop.co.uk

Forget opposites attracting, here’s an example of twinning and winning. Not quite the sweetest style of sherry, that’ll be Pedro Ximenez, Moscatel is made from the, well, Moscatel de Alejandria grape. The only grape you can get away with saying it tastes ‘grapey’. Like PX, the grapes are sun dried and fortified, giving it a floral, marmaladey and honeyed flavour profile that greets the white chocolate like its long-lost sibling.

Dark Chocolate x Pedro Ximenez

Morrisons The Best Pedro Ximenez Sherry, £7.25, www.groceries.morrisons.com

This is the money-shot of Easter pairings. Pedro Ximenez looks like treacle and tastes like molasses put in the whizzer with Christmas pudding. It acts like a dessert wine though its officially a sherry. There’s a scurrilous amount of sugar in this style, we’re talking 300 – 500 g/litre, which is why a little goes a long way. Though, I find a lot goes a longer way. The combo of that and a bitter 85 – 100% chunk of dark chocolate will make your head explode, in a good way.

Milk Chocolate x Palo Cortado

González Byass ‘Leonor’ Palo Cortado 12 Year Old Sherry, £22, Majestic, www.majestic.co.uk

This is my favourite style of sherry and this particular bottle is my go-to. This actually started out life as a Fino, the lightest form of sherry, it’s then exposed to the elements and takes on a flavour profile between a nutty Oloroso and the freshness of an Amontillado. It’s dry in style, with beautiful saline notes, giving the chocolate a cheeky sea salt moment, which we know works diabolically well. Make it a decent quality milk chocolate pairing, please, I don’t want to see any Dairy Milk wrappers lying around or we’ll be having words.  

Spicy Chocolate x Manzanilla

Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanilla Sherry, £15.50, Waitrose, www.waitrose.com/

This bottle is to Manzanilla what Tio Pepe is to Fino, aka the benchmark. It’s like sipping on sea mist, with a whisper of nuts and bruised apple flavours in the mix. This whip-fresh style yearns for the cheekiness of a chilli infused chocolate, or at least a high quality smoky dark chocolate. You see, the more ‘out there’, spicy chocolate styles are balanced out by the saline nature of the sherry. Either that, or guzzle it with an inhuman amount of salted almonds. You’ll enjoy it either way.

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