A freak accident would change Harvey Trout’s life.

The keen Nottingham Forest fan had been at a match with friends when he tripped and fell, hitting his head on the road.

He suffered a life-changing head injury and spent seven weeks in rehab, where therapists helped him regain enough mobility and speech to return home.

“They taught me how to deal with what I have and how to manage it,” he said, as he thanked the team that helped him regain his independence.

Mr. Trout suffered multiple neck fractures in the fall of May 2023.

He tells his story to mark a year of campaigning started by National Occupational Therapist Week.

The 60-year-old, from Nottingham, said it was “touch and go” whether he would survive.

“I was gone and my eyes bulged out of my head.

“The doctors thought I would have vision loss or be blind and be in a wheelchair.

“You can’t believe that a fall like that would cause so much damage,” he said.

Mr Trout spent several weeks in the major trauma unit before being moved to Linden Lodge at City Hospital.

Over the course of seven weeks, the team of occupational therapists (OTs) worked for Mr Trout to relearn basic skills or adapt his tasks.

This included accompanying him to catch a bus, browse to a shop, select the ingredients for a meal on a £5 budget and then cook the meal back at Linden Lodge.

He said: “They were fantastic. I still have days where I am fuzzy and exhausted, but without OT my life would not be what it is today.

“They taught me how to deal with what I have and how to manage it.”

Anna Marshall, senior rehabilitation therapist at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) Trust, said: “When OTs talk about ‘occupations’ we don’t just mean employment or jobs, we mean everyday tasks and roles life that adds meaning and purpose to patients’ lives.

“This can be as simple as brushing your teeth, getting dressed, making yourself a hot drink or, further along in the recovery process, it could be returning to work, resuming hobbies or leaving home to meet a friend.”

Next summer, the rehabilitation unit will move from Linden Lodge to National Rehabilitation Center near Loughborough.