May 1998 I came out of the top of my Wrangler Jeep, attacked a tree with my head (not very sensible! ) and ended up in ICU in a bit of a mess, not that I remember. I had Glasgow Scale 8 head injury and they induced coma, etc. to stop me doing further damage to myself.
The NHS basically got shut of me after 9 months which I was not unhappy about. Went home to my wife and our pub business (it was mine really as I was tenant and had arranged all the finance, etc.). That lasted about a month and at Christmas she got rid of me.
I was lucky, my Dad rang me and said 'you can go home as long as you understand it's not a doss-house and you must attend the office with your brothers' (we had a foodservice equipment distribution company of 40 years standing). Things went well and slowly I ended up taking over all duties relating to suppliers, logistics and banking, etc.
Dad got ill with advanced prostate cancer diagnosis, quickly becoming immobile and unable to attend work at all (he was mid 70s) but it was okay because I still had him at home to ask questions of and direct me. Unfortunately 2016 he did what elderly, sick people do and passed.
I thought me, my brother and elderly mother were now in it together. We employed my niece to learn the accounts under the direction of my mother and it seemed we were all in it together. After a couple of years I realised we weren't and my brother was actually working to destroy the business - he was the IT guy - the business had no debt and owned all its stock as well as premises worth towards £300K. When I realised what was going on I did manage to stop the rot and turned the business round, but I did not understand my brother had been dripping poison into my mother's ear all the time.
I was removed as a director, made too frightened to continue at work and then my mother took me to court for trespass in the home we had lived (with my father previously) for over 20 years. Covid slowed things down slightly but I still ended up going through emergency accommodation, etc. in 2020.
I have been in every direction I can think of for help, all I want is to be pointed in the right direction! Every organisation, both government and not, that is supposed to be there to help vulnerable people has failed leaving me even more frightened, but like many I do manage to hide it to get through life day-to-day.
A month ago was going to be the last time I would attend our local Headway group meeting - I was fed up to the back teeth of our monthly chats going nowhere. At that meeting it transpired our chair was going to take some time off so decided to continue. Yesterday was the next meeting and the initial movement into the future was very positive, I shall continue to be positive and engage.
That also applies to the local Brain Injury Service who after 20 odd years seem to have decided I do need some help, as well as my MP's office who are working with me at last.
So please, as I keep saying in response to others' posts here, keep going - we need to be heard and make a difference.
Best wishes
Michael