Our happy ENDINGS

Three women reveal how they picked themselves up and found joy again after adversity

- GILLIAN HARVEY

‘I had a light-bulb moment following my accident’

Niki French, 52, is the CEO of Pup Talk, a dog-training business, and lives with her boyfriend Ash, 51, in Twickenham.

I heard a loud screech and suddenly I was lying on tarmac, my bike a tangled mess beside me. It was August 2014, and I’d been hit by a car while cycling to my job as a sales and marketing director in London. Lying there – bloodied but with nothing broken – I told paramedics I didn’t want to go to A&E.

My bruises faded and I was soon back at work. But after a short time I developed pain in my shoulders and, worryingly, problems with my memory. I’d forget colleagues’ names and mix up similar words like ‘people’ and ‘purple’.

My GP sent me for an MRI in November 2014, which revealed some bruising on my brain. ‘It might repair itself,’ the neurologist told me, but he couldn’t be certain.

As one of the few women in my company, I felt exposed when I stammered in the boardroom or forgot important details. I struggled on, hoping things would improve. After a couple of years, I tried going part-time. But I’d still end up coming home in tears of frustration.

By 2018, I knew I needed to make a change, but had no idea what I’d do. Then in December, when at a Christmas lunch with a friend, she mentioned she had looked into becoming a dog trainer.

It was a light-bulb moment. I love dogs, and this was something I could do. I handed in my notice two days later and signed up for online training, taking on dog-walking work to support myself.