EIGHT months after an horrific brain injury Olympic rowing hero James Cracknell and his wife Beverley have been forced to re-evaluate their lives together.

James was cycling in an endurance challenge in Arizona in July last year when a truck travelling at 70mph clipped him from behind.

He suffered a fractured skull and was in intensive care, sedated for several days and breathing with the aid of the ventilator.

His recovery has been long and arduous and the brain injury has damaged his short-term memory, made him quick tempered and has forced the couple to change how they care for their children.

Speaking exclusively to The Sun in the first interview the couple have given together since the accident, Beverley, 37, recalls her wedding vows, and says: "It seems surreal thinking back to that moment.

"There I was linking arms with a big, strapping athlete. As dependable and solid as he was strong.

"How could I ever have imagined that just a few years later in sickness and in health would be tested to their ultimate limits or that I would be propping him up in the aftermath of a freak accident that nearly claimed his life?" James cannot recall his time in hospital, leaving his wife to carry the burden of knowing how close she came to losing him for ever.

TV presenter Beverley says: "Since then everything has been about getting James well.

Brain injuries change people and some wives grieve for the person they've lost."

Now 39 weeks pregnant, there are days when Beverley is nearly overcome by the challenge of caring for James and their two children - Croyde, seven, and Kiki, two.

She says: "I think James will raise his game for this birth. It will be difficult for him to manage but, with help, I know he can do it.

"This baby was conceived just before James set off on the bike ride. It still chills me to think how I could have gone through the birth without him. We are lucky that this little one will know its daddy."

Sitting next to his wife, James still possesses movie star good looks and an athletic build - and he appears happy and confident. But scratch a bit deeper and the pressures of holding their loving marriage together become apparent.

The couple bravely admit that when James came out of hospital six months ago he could not be left alone with their two children.

Beverley explains: "It's not that he would be a danger to the children but he might have become distracted or forgetful - if he was cooking or they were near a road."

James continues: "Brain injury is sometimes referred to as the 'hidden illness'. That makes it hard for others to understand.

"I can walk, I can talk and I have two healthy kids and a gorgeous wife but no one can see what's going on under the surface."

James's injury affects an area of the brain that governs personality, decision-making and motivation. He says: "There is a lack of empathy so I don't think of people in the same way. I can't multi-task. I become frustrated quickly and I can't plan things logically."

James rowed into the public eye as part of Sir Steve Redgrave's legendary gold medal-winning coxless fours at the 2000 Sydney Games.
 

He concedes his marriage is under huge pressure, saying: "Doctors told us that 75 per cent of marriages that endure the effects of a brain injury end in divorce. I'm eight months post-accident. After two years doctors say I'll be where I am forever - so who knows?

"It may help that I am not the sort of person that gives up easily. But it does sadden me that I haven't been able to help Bev through her pregnancy."

Beverley is unfazed by probabilities, and adds: "I already knew about a stat that said 77 per cent of marriages to sportsmen end in divorce so this was only slightly worse. It's not helpful but we both really believe in marriage - we will find a way through."

Despite his condition, James undertook his first post-accident challenge in February - a bike ride across the Canadian Arctic tundra.

You can watch his adventures in Unstoppable? The James Cracknell Trilogy Race Across America at 9pm this Thursday and Coldest Race On Earth at 9pm on Thursday, April 7, both on Discovery.

Now the couple are determined to overcome the demons of the brain injury. Beverley has been overwhelmed by the support from wives of other sufferers.

She says: "One lady wrote to me and said, 'I have had two husbands and I love them both.' That's just how it is."