THE mum of a teenager who suffered a serious head injury eight years ago has warned other youngsters ‘one bump could change your life’.

Brave Max Brimble, 13, overcame the odds to survive when a horse kicked him in the head as he walked through a field near his home in Batcombe, near Dorchester, in 2001.

Mum Carole Potter’s warning comes as Brain Injury Awareness Week highlights the importance of ‘looking after your head’.

Carole said: “Max was very safety conscious as a child but when we were in hospital with him, we saw so many children who had fallen off bikes and skateboards without helmets.

“I want to warn people one bump could change your life so quickly.

“Our whole family life has changed, we always have to think about Max first before we go on a journey or do anything.”

The Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust is running the annual injury awareness campaign with the emphasis on young people this year.

As part of the national awareness week, the Dorset HealthCare NHS Foundation Trust is urging people to take care.

Weymouth schoolboy Max suffered a fractured skull and the after-effects of brain swelling, two heart attacks and loss of oxygen to his brain which all led to further damage.

He was kept in hospital for 10 months and his family was told to prepare for the worst.

Eight years on, Max has made remarkable progress and can ride a bike, swim and enjoys music and comics.

But Carole said every day was a challenge that must be taken ‘one step at a time.’ Carole said: “People seem to think the younger the child the better because they can relearn everything but it’s been very difficult for Max to relearn because his brain was damaged in several different places. The after-effects were just as damaging as the actual incident.”

Max, who is a pupil at Westfield School in Weymouth, has learning difficulties and problems with his short-term memory.

He warned it was ‘easier than you think’ to get a head injury.

“I can remember that I was walking through the field with my sister and the horse accidentally bucked and kicked my forehead.

“My mum said I had blood on my face.”

Max is close to his eight-year-old brother Corey and two-year-old brother Freddy.

Last June he met Prime Minister Gordon Brown and recently had a ‘Dreams Come True’ concert at Westfield to make him a pop star. He has also met Olympic ace Dame Kelly Holmes.

His mum added: “It’s always going to be harder for him in life.