Living with Brain Injury of related interest Cracked Recovering After Traumatic Brain Injury Lynsey Calderwood ISBN 1 84310 065 7 Rehabilitation Counselling in Physical and Mental Health Edited by Kim Etherington ISBN 1 85302 968 8 Living with Brain Injury Philip L. Fairclough Jessica Kingsley Publishers London and Philadelphia All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London, England W1T 4LP. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher. Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution. The right of Philip L. Fairclough to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published in the United Kingdom in 2002 by Jessica Kingsley Publishers 116 Pentonville Road London N1 9JB, UK and 400 Market Street, Suite 400 Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA www.jkp.com Copyright © Philip L. Fairclough 2002 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fairclough, Philip L., 1951 - Living with brain injury / Philip L. Fairclough. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-84310-059-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Fairclough, Philip L., 1951---Health. 2.Brain damage--Patients--Rehabilitation--Great Britain--Biography. 3. Brain--Wounds and injuries--Complications--Patients--Great Britain--Biography. I. Title. RC387.5 .F34 2002 617.4’81044’083--dc21 2002016245 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN-13: 978 1 84310 059 1 ISBN-10: 1 84310 059 2 Printed and Bound in Great Britain by Athenaeum Press, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear Contents DEDICATION 9 Preface 11 1. My Introduction to Brain Injury 15 2. Brain Injury – The Facts and Some Statistics 20 3. The Symptoms – The First Few Days 28 Diagnosis Conditions associated with brain injury 4. Coping with Your Feelings 48 Accepting and digesting the news Anger, frustration and resentment Anxiety, worthlessness and the loss of role in life Dealing with overprotectiveness Taking stock – How much recovery can be made? 5. Home Care or Care Unit? The Big Dilemma 56 6. The First Few Weeks – From the Rehabilitation Unit to Home 67 Communication Mobility Eating Dress and grooming 7. Long-Term Problems 76 Psychological changes Aggression Irritability Nervousness or agitation Mood swings Sexual difficulties Fatigue and loss of strength Adjusting to the reactions of family and friends 8. Sufferers Can Help Themselves 89 Other treatment options Homeopathy Aromatherapy Muscle testing Naturopathic remedies Physiotherapy Diet, exercise and activity Pleasure in leisure 9. Learning from the Experience of Brain Injury 105 To myself and other sufferers To carers of other sufferers To victims of other conditions and their families To the rehabilitation unit To professional bodies To hospital staff 10. Caring – How to Cope 119 Coming to terms with the diagnosis Learning to deal with sufferers’ feelings Handling the psychological changes Avoiding overprotection but being safe Looking after oneself – Help for the carer The needs of children Hopes and disappointments 11. Useful Information and Sources 141 Social services Department of Social Security (DSS) Headway – the brain injury association Carers UK SPOD Returning to work 12. What of the Future? Some Hopes and Aspirations 156 Continuing to be positive Continuing to make goals Being realistic of one’s abilities and hopes Getting back to an average life In Conclusion 167 References and Further Reading 169 Useful Addresses 171