Just joined and want to say hi to everyone.
I suffered a brain injury in hospital three years ago and have been fighting to have it recognised and to get support ever since. The injury led to me becoming disabled and unable to work.
Looking forward to getting to know you. 😀
Do you mind me asking how you suffered you injury Marnie?
Nice to hear from you.
I was in hospital for a hysteroscopy but four times as much fluid was allowed to enter into my bloodstream as the guidelines say. This mucked up my electrolytes and then low sodium led to my brain swelling and cutting off oxygen to some parts.
So they really messed up?! I understand why you must be feeling like you do regarding the life changing mistakes of the nhs' carelessness. That must be hard. I'm so very sorry for you.
Sorry if I'm speaking out of place, but you seem to have good insight and understanding of what has actually happened to you and the significant complications it has caused to your life.
How long ago was this?
Hi. Thanks for your messages. My injury happened just over three years ago although it often feels like it was yesterday.
How does it affect you day to day,
I have severe physical and cognitive fatigue so I cannot work (and I loved my job.) I cannot get out of bed for about three days a week. I have excruciatingly poor short term memory and poor attention and concentration. I get sensory overload where I can't cope with noise/lights etc and can shut down and be unwell for several hours at a time. I can't read newspapers or books any more or watch narrative TV as I lose track of the main points or story. I can't filter out background noises. Lots of things like going to a doctor's appointment will leave me so exhausted it will affect me the following day. Every morning I wake up in a horrible confused state, not knowing where I am or what is going on - I have to leave notes reminding me that I will feel better in a couple of hours because I don't remember it despite it happening every morning. I am very slow at processing information. Certain sounds hurt places in my head and if I can't get away from them I become agitated and disoriented and feel I will vomit (hyperacusis.) Personality has changed - I have no patience, no flexibility, worse impulse control, I am irritable and horrendously angry all the time, I have reduced empathy for others and I feel like part of me has been stolen. I have been told I have PTSD and have been waiting a year for treatment.
Sorry to go on so much!
Well, that sounds horrendous! I'm sorry you have go through all of this, especially as these terrible conditions you are left with are due to the neglect of people you put your trust in. I can sincerely empathise with you as I suffer much of the same as yourself, but not on the same level. How has your family been through all this? And did you get any retribution for the mistakes that were made?
Hi. Thank you so much for your reply. I don't have any family around me, so that's been tough going I am currently about two years into a medical negligence case but I have no way yet of knowing I it will progress further until all the independent specialists I have seen have finished their reports etc. I was extremely lucky with the legal side as someone advised me to check if I had legal cover as part of my house insurance and I did! Otherwise I couldn't never have afforded a solicitor and probably wouldn't have been able to get a no win no fee agreement as initially my case looked very difficult. I have s lovely specialist solicitor I found through Headway. The insurance company wanted me to use their panel solicitor but I fought to get a specialist as only someone knowledgeable about brain injury would know what questions to ask.
It's good to know you're getting something back even though its no comparison for what you've lost.
Headway is a good lifeline to have and they will give you all the help possible.
I'm sorry you have no family around you, although the group you attend can probably be classed as kind of family. For me anyway.
Hello Marnie,
Sorry to hear all you have been going through due to a medical mistake. These are the individuals we trust. I hope you receive all the treatment you need throughout your life and they cover the cost.
I can relate to some of your symptoms as I have MS.
Keep us updated on your progress.
April
