How has your brain injury affected your career? - Headway
I am not back in work now but am currently running a Headway branch called Headway Merthyr Tydfil. It is only volunteering at the moment but I do hope one day that it will turn out to be paid work weather its for my branch / another group or branch.
hi lisa M hope your group is taking off. have seen mel and she says early days yet, keep at it hope to see you at xmas do 18 dec
I was able to go back to work as a university lecturer (which I think I am incredibly lucky with, considering how blurry my voice sounds to me, now; and the fact that I am not allowed to go on student fieldtrips), but it has affected a lot of my job. I have done no research since my accident.
was unable to work for 3 years, have recently returned to same industry (I.T) but at a lower level.
I so want to get back into work to fill my days, but even when my days are filled I am soo tired I sleep for 2days! I don't know if my body will get used to the hours again. But ill probally sleep all hours not working which means my social life will be effected! One thing I learned after severe brain injury is ur true friends stand by no matter what u called them when angry or frustrated great I had such a good friend even thu I do not recall her previously! But the thought of working again tires me with the thought of exhaustion after work
I did return to work and after a little bit of 'getting back in the saddle', was doing just what I was before. However, 11 years post injury, recently been diagnosed with Epilepsy - has knocked me back considerably after so long.....
I was not working before as I was suffereing from stress & depression and severe headaches....I hope to do something but I doubt I will work in the field I was in before.......but I need to be hopeful and positive about my future.....I am getting a bit fed up with people telling me what I can't do.......I am determined to do something...........
I have stopped working with no plans to return , My children and my Grandchildren are my all that I can cope with five years on....If there is a job out there that involves random pottering with four hour lunch breaks in between 45 min tea breaks I would like an interview please. But do you think they would call me and remind me of the time and date and then when I don't turn up because I'm asleep again...or have been distracted by the bath that I let overflow ,the same one that I was about to get into to get ready for the job interview that I had forgotten about ...give me another appointment.....
it was 10 months before i was told i had brain damage + other things from a pneumovax vaccine i have had no real support from doctors and family i had a lot of mental abuse from my so called wife this has stopped now because she is now very ill,what goes around comes around ,my friends have been good to me have just joined headway this has been very helpfull, the last six years have been very difficult i do not know how i have got this far with little support may be its because very little would get me down no matter what,but the last six years has really tested me, i hope there is light at the end of the tunnel i can only hope ,when i had the injection i was lucky to live it should have killed me i was on my own at home my wife was staying with a friend so she says ,i have since found out different, so keep battling on it can only get better .
I would love to ave gone back to work, unfortunatly my employer a local authority did not recognise my condition so would not provide any return to work support. I opted for early retirement
I TOO WORKED FOR A LOCAL AUTHORITY BUT MY A.B.I. DAMAGED MY SIGHT AND I AM NOW REGISTERED PARTIALLY SIGHTED. I ALSO TOOK EARLY RETIREMENT.I JOINED THE NEWCASTLE SOCIETY FOR BLIND PEOPLE AND HEADWAY NEWCASTLE AND NORTH TYNESIDE, THIS ALONG WITH SUPPORT OF MY LOVING PARTNER JAN HAS HELPED ME IMMENSELY.
ha ha oh why am I not suprised, I was a team manager for a local authority who refussed to accept that I was ill, even telling me that I was just rying to get extended leave...what a sick joke. On the day of a 6 1/2 hour operation which I was only given a 7% chance of surviving a text message came telling me that my sick note was late so I would not be paid. Joke joke, before going off sick I was told they would use my unused leave before going into sick leave. I was bullied for 3 years given a contact person at work, and then without warning the contact person changed and they wanted the whole story again and again and again. They held my money up as well. Then I got ver good solicitor and ho ho ho the day before court they offered me a pay off as compensation and early reitirement. But at a lower salery than the one I was on. I did hold out for a letter of apology. Disgusts me the way I was treated name and shame I say
yes i lost my job because of my stroke leaving me disabled, which meant i couldnt drive anymore, due to fits i have had since which wont let me drive which was one of the main duties of the job, mobile warden ect. but i do intend on getting my fitness back one day, and working and driving again,cant imagine never doing those thing again but i will for sure 
xx
I'm about to be medically dismissed so i won't be going back to my old job now 
I'm hoping that i will get back to some form of work in the future but there's a lot to be sorted, and prob a bit of re-training!
Don't no what i intend to do ???. my memory is very poor. my organising is very poor. my multitasking is very poor. and so on. i would not like to employ me. i am a danger to myself and otheres because of the above. i am so wanting to work just to show my children that living off benifits is not the answer but at the moment i have to.
my profeession i can no longer do and the carreer i was studying for has been all lost. I will prob work doin a job that you dont need much of a brain for and that saddens me. I would love to be a support worker for people with Brain injuries and mental disporders following Brain injuries.
Had my TBI before I left school at the age of 17 - thankfully after taking my Os and As.
Started as an apprentice telephone engineer, slung out in 6 months for being a little odd. Started factory work and drifted from job to job for a few years. Acquired a lot of skills though 
I took my professional qualifications as a mature student [whilst still in recovery] and eventually settled.
I've had 32 years in just two jobs; unlike 30 in two years and been in an excellent job for the last 17 years.
It can be done, but it takes a long time to recover. The added bonus for me was the time frame; all this occurred late 60's when Britain had industry. It would be a very different trip today I think.
I was getting the sack so often I never bothered to sign on after the second time. I was given a 'disabled worker green card' and what a rip-off for workers that was. Employers paid you less, ignored your disability and expected the same output as the able bodied staff. I threw the thing away; I needed no favours nor employers taking the piss.
Anyway, all sorted out now.
I might add that I had no benefit, either offered or asked for. But I am of the opinion that those of us who cannot work deserve all that's offered from the State. It's an invisible disability and there's so many who don't know about our suffering and who comment without any knowledge of our problems.
I didn't even get any compensation because the damnable 'Solicitor' was bent and went to gaol for it. The case went by the wind.
After my injury it took me 3 years to get back yo my job, its still as struggle even now after 5 years since my accident
I am a teacher and have returned to work although I have had to give up my management duties as I was not coping very well. I have also reduced my hours on a temporary basis due to the tiredness but if it doesn't improve soon I will have to make it permanent.
I would like to know how many employers were supportive and recognised the illnesses associated with a brain injury, as I suspect very few
I have done voluntary work to get me back into work but have found my mental health is not in top condition to get me into a paid job.
I think all of the above points indicate a level of desire on the part of the afflicted to work. Sadly, they also reveal a staggering level of ignorance of and intolerance to the impact a brain injury or surgery can have upon a person. Perhaps Headway could look into this and bring some pressure to bear?
My injury occured when I was 14 and has prevented me from even beginning to work.
Despite having injury when I was 10, in 1988, I had no idea which parts of my brain were affected until I was 34 when I requested a brain scan! I now know how to work in partnership with my brain as I now fully understand the difficulties I have.
As a 28 year old, I qualified as a teacher, but can now see why I found it soo stressful - trying to concentrate on my teaching whilst pupils were talking and distracting my thought, and not understanding why teachers who had trained at the same time as me could do so much more!! I would never have gone into teaching if I had known the memory/concentration difficulties I had!
I am now lucky to work in an admin role I am suited to, where I don't have to remember as much, and have more time to think. I am much happier for this.
However, I do wonder if I had of had a brain scan as a teen, and new how to work better with my brain, if I would have tried as hard to achieve what I have.
I am also a survivor of brain injury and 6 years into recovery, I started on a high, as a ‘success’, as the neuro intensive carers classified me - I returned to work, then after a few months I reduced my hours as the work load became too much, then the awareness of how much I was actually affected by the injury - I was different in some way I could not explain - the epilepsy, the medications, my social life, inability to drive - all areas of my life including parenting where affected.
Recently I have been watching the Brain Hospital, and have been inspired to return to my creative roots and would like to apply for funding to do a follow-up documentary on my research on us survivors, the ‘success’ stories and what happens 5-10 years down the line in our recovery and how the health care system among other things affects our lives.
Just reading our stories here online suggests that our ‘invisible health status’ is not taken seriously.
I am sharing my thoughts with you, as obviously I would need your support for this project to be a real ‘success story’
See headway.healthunlocked.com/...
The deficits (prospective memory, verbal memory, attention) that I have interfere strongly with my ability to do the things I both want to do and that match the remaining strengths (visual memory, reasoning).
At the moment, I do not see myself as a "survivor", except in the sense of being in lifeboat drifting aimlessly in the Doldrums, constantly baling water, down to my last flare and no prospect of a ship or aeroplane passing nearby. Sometimes I offer a quick prayer of thanks that I'm not as badly off as those many souls who are in less well-equipped boats with more leaks, but most of the time I'm in the metaphorical equivalent of dealing with people who are on luxury cruise-boats or firmly grounded in their ocean-side resorts, which makes for a somewhat more invidious comparison (on both sides of the equation).
I am ashamed to admit this but I have never worked. I suffered my first head injuries as a child and was removed from school, have had depression and PTSD since I was 13 life has been a mess. I have taught myself to sew and do plan to start selling some stuff online soon.
Hi SmileyGurlz,
Thank you for your comment - that is certainly nothing to be ashamed of, you sustained an injury at a young age and given the ongoing effects, you have had to focus on getting yourself back on track rather than working.
If you need any support, please contact our helpline on 0808 800 2244 or helpline@headway.org.uk.
Best wishes,
Headway.
my injury is related to memory problems so I have to ask people repeatly
Unsure if my son will be able to hold down meaning full employment. I had to give up work to become his full time Carer, my own employer wasn't as flexible. I asked to take unpaid leave for a year, with the intension of returning, but they couldn't support me in this, I now get Carers allowance wow
10 months after my TBI i am back at work on reduced hours, I've gone from 4 hrs a week to 30 hrs a week in 5 months. I've not gone back to my old role because I had to surrender my drivers licence, but I am still involved in that department because I (thankfully) held onto all the knowledge. I have learnt a new role, rehoming the ponies our charity rescues and rehabilitates. This month alone (August) I have rehome 12 ponies!!!! My employers are super understanding and patient and have kept all doors open for me. I'm not sure I will work full time again, but it is still early days. I feel I am doing my bit for the charity and although I don't get paid a lot I love what I do and get huge amounts of job satisfaction.
Retrained as a level 2 Gym Instry through InstructAbility. Volunteer one day a week at the YMCA as a Health & Fitness Instructor on the GP Referral Scheme 2 hours. Also volunteer for Age UK going into clients homes after a fall to help them exercise and become more mobile 2 hours. It's 6 years since my brain injury in 2009. Lost my job as a PA in a secondary school in 2011. Rehabilitation in 2012. Trained to be a Gym Instructor in 2013. Training to do level 3 in Personal Training. Can't commit to regular full-time work due to post stroke fatigue.
Is this question still open?
It made me choose less demanding, less creative roles.
Moderation team