PHUKET: It was a kind of changing of the guard, with Shane Free and mother Monica Vearer arriving on Phuket almost as Steven ''Tommo'' Thomas and his mother Linda were being flown home to Britain.

Both ''Tommo'' and Shane are victims of motorcycle crashes on Phuket, both aged in their 30s, both British, both suffering major head injuries. There, their tales diverge.

Shane's crash came almost two years ago, involving a detective story to establish his identity and a long fight to return him to his feet, led by his mother. For ''Tommo,'' the biggest battle in the life of the former Marine is just beginning.

The father of two is still in a coma and the support of his mother Linda and friends will help him return to a normal existence.

''We caught up with Linda and she was very grateful to see Shane,'' said Monica on Phuket today. ''It's hard, but it is possible to recover from this kind of trauma.''

Recover, and then some. Today Shane, a former Phuket diving instructor, went snorkelling with his mother. He will never dive again, but as he and Monica trip around the island, he is gradually regaining his memory.

''Quite a bit is coming back,'' Monica said. ''He will say 'I remember this' or 'I remember that.'

Back in December 2009, Shane was found by a Karon roadside, with no identification on him.

The nurses at Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket City, with help later from British honorary consul Martin Carpenter, managed to trace the motorcycle - probably kicked from under him in a robbery - and Monica flew to Phuket to be with her seriously ailing son.

''It's been 24/7 ever since,'' she said. ''The doctors say Shane is well ahead in the speed of recovery.'' He had to learn to walk again, and now plays golf and other sport to continue rehabilitation.

''We were a bit worried about coming back to Phuket,'' Monica said. ''How it might affect him emotionally. But it's been brilliant.''

The pair visited the nurses at Vachira Phuket, and the nurses were ecstatic to see Shane and his mother again. Not too many people take the trouble to thank the medical staff at any of Phuket's hospitals for the great work they do.

For ''Tommo'' and Linda, the opportunity to return to Phuket will hopefully come one day.

It is not known whether ''Tommo'' was wearing a helmet when he came off his motorbike near Chalong Temple, but Shane definitely wasn't wearing one.

Monica became a great advocate of people wearing helmets the minute she arrived on Phuket, and added her support often to the ''100 percent helmet'' campaign that began on Phuket as Shane was recovering.

Today she's still very keen to see more people wearing head protection, and knowing what she knows, that's hardly surprising. Shane wishes he'd been wearing one too.

Phuketwan supports the Mothers or Motorcycles (MoM) action group that promotes helmet-wearing and road safety on Phuket.