This is how I got my brain injury and how it affects me

How I got my Brain injury

My brain injury happened when I was just a couple of days old and in hospital.  My mum tells me I had a straight forward natural birth and was well and healthy.  However after that I didn’t feed well and slept a lot of the time.  My mum was constantly asking the midwives what to do and why I wasn’t feeding and they assured her that it was perfectly normal for a new born baby not to feed and only commented about how pretty I was and how she was lucky that I wasn’t crying all the time.  When the paediatrician came to check me over to discharge me she knew immediately that something was wrong and whisked me off to special care after a pin prick blood test showed zero sugar levels.  I was diagnosed with hypoglycaemia and hypothermia, and put in an incubator and wired up to lots of machines for over a week.  It is not well known that lack of sugar causes brain damage; most people only know that lack of oxygen causes brain damage but my family and I have witnessed firsthand the problems it can cause.  This is how I got my three conditions epilepsy, dyslexia and dyspraxia.

How it has affected me

Throughout the years I have had to have lots of treatments, therapy and medication to make me the capable person I am today.  I have also had to put up with lots of bullying, being ignored and lack of understanding by my peer group.

The way that epilepsy has affected me is:  that it prevents me from doing a career that I really wanted to do this is to become a paramedic. The reason I can’t do this career is because I am never allowed to drive, paramedics do 12 hour shifts which include each colleague doing 6 hour shifts driving. But I am a member of St John’s ambulance and this is probably as close as I will get to being a paramedic.  My favourite places to go on duty are; The London marathon and to Arsenal football club as a first aider.

Another way in which epilepsy affects me is that I could have a seizure (fit) anywhere at any time which can sometimes be embarrassing such as having a fit at the gym as there are lots of people there to see me.

The way that dyspraxia affects me is:  that I don’t have a good memory, sense of direction, balance and co-ordination. This means I have a lot more difficulty than others remembering how to get myself to places easily without getting lost unless I have done the route lots of times before.

The way in which dyslexia affects me is:  that it is hard to be able to spell most words correctly so the only way I can spell difficulty is by singing the song Mrs. D Mrs. I Mrs. FFI Mrs. C Mrs. U Mrs. LTY.  When I am on duty with St John’s Ambulance it is hard to fill out some details such as Names etc when you have to work quickly under pressure.

It has been great to get involved with The Silver Lining and meeting other people with an understanding of what it is like to live with brain injury.  I went on the trip to Namibia last year; it was nice to meet new people from a different culture, they were so grateful for our help, my idea for the mural on the school wall was chosen by the principal over the other ideas presented by the other silver liners.  When I got home I realised how happy those people were with very little possessions and how we are often unhappy in England even though we have so much.  It has helped me put my problems into perspective and appreciate the great life I have.