Jason Roberts was just 12 when his life was changed after suffering a brain haemorrhage.

Despite the many obstacles he faced during his recovery, Jason has battled back to become a fitness trainer, and is now busy creating a new company to help others who find themselves facing similar uphill battles.

Here is his story; Jason was 12 when his life changed. He woke up in the middle of the night, and, as he walked to the bathroom, he collapsed. He was diagnosed as having had a brain haemorrhage, and spent the next two weeks in a coma.

After regaining consciousness, he was left with very little use of his right side, a loss of memory, and reduced vision. Years of painful physiotherapy followed, as well as the realisation that nothing would be simple again.

He said: "For two years after the haemorrhage, I went to a special school for people with disabilities, where we focussed on speech therapy and physiotherapy, as well as learning to do everyday things again.

"At the age of 14 I went back into normal educa¬tion, but after two years out, I was too far behind, and left school with just five CSEs.

"However, at that time I began to get more and more into fitness as I looked at how I could work on my disabilities, and began to get involved in body building.

"I remember buying my first set of weights, and carrying each one home individually until I had the set there - it was my first real achievement."

Jason started designing his own fitness programmes, and ones for his friends, but never thought it would become a career for himself, until he found himself in Cornwall in the early 1990s.

He said: "I never had a long-term job, I always went for temporary roles, where I could leave before I was found out as not being capable.

"I came down to Cornwall, and ended up in a job where I finally was found out, and realised, hang on, I need to be self employed."

Jason decided to make fitness his career, and earned a Diploma of Sports Science and Injury Management.

He then set himself up as a fitness specialist, help¬ing others achieve a peak level of fitness. He has also continued to achieve each personal goal he has set himself, running two half marathons, and com¬peting in body-building competitions, despite still suffering debilitating headaches and other side effects from the haemorrhage.

Jason has also set up Steps to Wellness, an online directory of health therapists in UK and Europe, saying that this sort of resource was not available when Ihe was ill and if it had been he would not still be undergoing rehabilitation work.

"I just hope that if there is someone going through what I went through at the age of 12, this site is there to help them and support them.

"It is all just about moving the business forward now, and I am always looking for support."

For more information visit stepstowellness.co.uk, or call Jason on 07834 987 330.