Worried about my fiance who suffered from a TBI 2 and a half years ago.

[nellen93]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here but have been reading some posts and some of the support is great

My fiance was attacked and suffered from a TBI 2 and a half years ago. He got some help initially when he was in hosiptal and for a few weeks after, then nothing. The incident was in June, and in September a Doctor said he was OK to go back to work to his job as a chef (but with reduced hours) which he did. He couldn't cope and left the job in November. He was then unemployed until April when he got an 'easier' job as a kitchen assistant as he thought that would be less strain for him and would help him to recover. It has now been 2 years since he started that job, and he hates it. He is treated very poorly as his colleagues don't understand his head injury and he has been working crazy hours (47 a week) to get by and meet his old salary.

In his words:

I suffer from short and long term memory problems which make my work and day to day life exhausting as my brain has to work incredibly hard to keep up. I feel periods of extreme anger, and although I have been able to manage this so far I am anxious that I won’t be able to control it one day. I find it challenging to concentrate on tasks for more than a few minutes. I have an aversion to crowds of people, and feel overwhelmed and panicked when in a crowded place. My hearing is not as it was before the incident- I find it difficult to differentiate between background noise and somebody speaking to me. People also have to repeat themselves often when they are talking to me or giving me instructions. I am sensitive to bright and flashing lights and have to look away from them.

He desperately wants out of his job, but doesn't know what to do next. He feels he is too old to start a career (he's not, he's 27), but his current job and the head injury have severely knocked his self-confidence. He also hasn't been to the doctors regarding his head injury since 2 years ago.

Does anyone have any advice on what to do? Should he be getting any medical support? How do you build a career after a TBI?

Thank you if you've managed to read all this! Any advice/ people's stories would be great to hear.

[sealiphone]

If it's not been done I'd want a Neuropsychologist assessment, as their role is to identify symptoms and help with coping strategies.

His GP should make a referral to your local Neuro-rab service, they can also provide assistance with work related problems.

And of course the local Headway group, as they can advise from experience and the opportunity to talk to others with a TBI.