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I was is a car club that had a night navigation run at Redcliffe which is North of Brisbane when a local gang did something that make me stop the car? My mistake was getting out of the car, weather is was to help a girl being assulted or not as it is all unclear to me. I have no real memory except some flash backs about it, but I am not sure. They attacked me from behind and only for the help of a war ventren and an off duty nurse who treated me on the side or the road and called for help. I was first taken to Redcliffe Base Hospital when I had my first heart attack from blood lose, I was in a coma and on life support with a police escort, travelling slowly in an ambulance because and transferred to Brisbane. I was to unstable to go by air, a second ambulance was dispatched for the trip to Royal Brisbane Hospital with Polise escort. My prognosis was grim. What was the purpose of attacking a complete stranger and all I can make cents of is jealousy from the car they saw me driving. I was in ICU for the time of the coma and then they watched regularly in the crital ward, in the PTO stage. I was in a deep coma for eight days with no movement as far as I know. With vilant seizures of stricking out against the staff at the hospital, which I have no memory of. I had swelling with bruising to my brain, there had been internal bleeding also and a fractured skull with a fractured eye socket, several abrasions and missing teeth and both eyes were almost pushed out of their sockets from swelling behind them and blooding. In 1979 they told the family very little about the outcome, but they said I would be a vegatated state. Twice the Catholic Prest gave him his last rights I was told. With luck and the help of God I got up from that bed, and alive today. I first remember waking up with a nurse standing besides the bed and my arms and legs restranned. I broke the right arm free and pulled up the sheat to cover myself. The nurse looked totally shocked when I said why am I in hospital? Apart from saying he's awake, she said are you sure? I said something must be wrong if I am in hospital! She quickly released me and I asked if I could have a smoke. (I don't smoke anymore) Would you beleive in that time, she took me to the nurses lunch room and gave me one of her smokes. I did a series of silly tests with blocks and I polished them off quickly. This tells me now that they had very little idea of the damage from BRAIN INJURY at that time and this would explain why there was no rehab or councling to family, friends and the work place. Sadly the only help was from experience or what I have been reading in the last few years. I saw a psychologist privately at Belmont Hospital and then returned home with no rehab or stratges the idea then was to live in denial and retun to life like per-injury, like it had never happened. I had double vision for months afterwoods and my hand needed physiotherapy for months. My Local doctor picked gravel out of my scalp that it seems the hospital had missed. I tried to start to writing with my left hand, I believed my right hand would never recover because I couldn't close my hand. They told me to return to work as soon as possible. This would of been better if I had REHABLITATION. With no rehab the effects of the next few months really affected my life in a negative way. The Police Interview was not really legal, the police took a statement from me without a third person and from my ABI affects they verballed me and I feel they got a lot of things wrong. And yes this injustise still bothers me today because I ended up with TBI and they got away scott free. I had nothing against anybody, I was in a Car Clubs Night Run and it was all just for fun. It is not a race, you just answer silly questions and there was no time limit so there was no need for any speeding. Just answer some silly questions and return to the club house for a coffee and go home. The court case was a bigger joke, with no mention of my Brain Injury and no evidence presented about it they even got to my old friend and for some reason was to scared too say what happened and they walked away scott free. The wittinesses where declared to old and did not know what they where talked about even though one of them told me they saw them kicking me in the head. I was lucky that one of Thank you because of this lady is why I am probably still alive and the others that helped. Post-Injury I couldn't deal with things and mult-task. Post injury every job I did was more difficulty in one way or another. Either personality clashes or stress, I would work so hard and push myself yet others would not see this. The stress was terrible and I would get very upset not knowing why everything would seem to be going wrong. I went to night school to learn to read again in 1981 and God Bbless my teacher who passed away the Christmas following. My Grandmother passed away in December 1978, and this happened 4 months later and would of been very hard on her if she was still alive. I know the pains my Family went through and it was very hard. But they never received any help or advice and they are still in denial about me. My personality changed this caused me the loss of all my friends and I still have trouble retaining new friendships. Very few stayed around after I tell them about my brain injury and most are gone. Public awareness and understanding is still very poor. I have hurt myself a few times when I worked, trying to hard. They told me I was accidents prone. My TBI I will have for the rest of my life and as I see it some things become more clear to me but I will always have it. They call TBI the hidden disabilities. I will have this for the rest of my life and I have to learned how to manage it. When at working in 1986, I fall down a 4 1/2 meters trench onto a concrete pipe. I spent most of the next three years getting treatment, with psycho for 18 months at four times a week in traction. As soon as I told the back specialist I had a brain injury he turned off, and didn't treat me fairly after that, again I should of had somebody with me. He no longer talked me the same and he even wrote nasty letters to all my treating doctors that I was fake. Because he didn't understand ABI and he couldn't see it! (hidden disabilities) My Workers Compensation claim was denied even though the CT scans showing I had a 3 budging disc's and other damage. I was not unaware this had happened until a Good Doctor showed me the letter saying I was fake. I tried working again in late 1990 in a different type of work but after I had two more operations on the left elbow, one on the right. My right ankle had a parental ligament tendon transfer, plus another stay in hospitale treatment for my back with physic then they wanted to operate on my back, but of course workers compensation rejected my claim again. Most of this misunderstanding was from my TBI and once marked they had their eyes covered. Local doctor advised I would be better off not having a back operation at this stage anyway. I told WC of my brain injury but again not believed, they wouldn’t check or even try to understand. Yet at the same time Centerlink put me on a pension and I was told they had been doing a case study for a number of years.I have to live with this back pain now for the rest of my life just like my brain injury with no compensation or remunerations for a weak social justice system that lets criminals off and victims pay for it for the rest of their life. Workers Compensation rejected my case when the Social Security Office put me on a pension for the very same reason!. And both offices are in the SAME BUILDING. Yet they couldn't communicate with each other? Sure move on, forget about it, (I am told) I have the right to feel agree or disappointed about the ignorant judgmental system that at the time did not and doesn’t understand acquired brain injuries. (There is something WRONG somewhere) This grief from the lack of criminal justice and poor understanding from medical staff, Police and Workers Compensation plus the fact I have never had proper rehabilitation to help me deal with my cognitive behavior problems, impulsive troubles and sleep disorder, poor body temperature control, dry eye socket, Personality change, depression, a history of relationship problems, fatigue, aggression, Lack of motivation, intolerance to stress, anxiety, plus hearing aids and a hearing impairment and I am hypersensitive to noise, Chronic headaches. The Excessive talking endangers most chance of making Personal friends. Chronic Back and left hip pain, diabetes and gout. But hey, I look okay so therefore I must not have anything wrong with me? This is what I have had to put up with over and over and I have got very tired of professionals always looking for the easy way out! I subject we need a CARD saying Yes you really do have a Brain Injury. Maybe they might believe it then. Some addition medical problems have come up since then, my Wife left me and we are now divorced. I have had headaches for 29 years and they have increased over the last 12 years I now have a Cpap machine to help me sleep, I have glasses and I have a walking stick when my legs or feet get sore, standing still is what makes my back hurt most. A vestibule test shown abnormal results and my neurologist and E.N.T. Surgean tells me the damage is perminate and can't be fixed by an operation. Positive things post TBI; My pet dog, Alf he was the world to me. Sadly I lost him in January 2008. I have lost some interest in my web pages but life goes on and I am sure he is being looked after until I see him again. Computers have been a big aid for me and have really helps me with improved reading, My hobby of scale slot cars has continued but I have a lot of trouble dealing with some of the people. I had tried not to tell anybody because the discrimination and ignorance will not make be any friends. Now well after 12 months since I have seen or had any contact with other hobbiest the word must of gone around I feel totally isolated, As nobody comes near me. It doesn't say much for it as a hobby. Words don't explain the hurt that eviodence can do to somebody. Should I say something or just let them think I am weird? (Cognitive problems and other listed above). I AM NOT WEIRD, I JUST HAVE AN INJURY TO MY BRAIN. Now I live with my best friend and because he has been unwell I care for him. I have been doing house keeping, cooking but with my elderly parients downstairs I need assistance because sometimes its way to much for me but I hide the trouble I am having mentally coping. I enjoy reading now when I have the time. But now I have NOISE from loud car exhaust and huge sub-woofer bass idiots who drive around trying to make the World deaf! I wish I didn’t get these headaches and my personality didn't change because it does affect making and keeping friends. Negative feelings and how people either don't believe me or have no idea of the effects following a brain injury. I wish Govenment Departments would all LEARN something about TBI, from one department to another sometimes one lot knows while the other have no idea. In closing I am more aware of this disability then ever before, I deal with things better and I still suffer moments of depression which is caused from my condition like when I still talk excessively but later think I should or stopped. I try to avoid stress if I can, Noise from inconsiderate people has been my new trouble and caused a lot of stress, In 2006 I had my thyriod removed totally and I devloped gout, I think the stress has brough on type 2 diabetes, Thats right I was not beleived, that I had an ACQUIRED BRAIN INJURY because they can see it? Please help STOPPING people without Disablity Parking Permits Parking in the Allacted Areas.? |
and some doctors do need to take the STEPS program
I am sorry if some issue have gone into this self story
and if there is any spelling errors.
I want to say many many thanks to the RBH, Royal Brisbane Hospital
for the wounderful care and help they gave me when this happened
In latter years the Mater Hospital and the P.A. Hospital for the
great care and support they have given me also and others with ABI.
thank you and God Bless
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Nuisance Noise
