ABSTRACT
It has been more than two years since a collision during a football, or soccer, match resulted in the author’s concussion, post-concussion syndrome and a bleed in the brain. The neuro-rehabilitation from this mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) is taking longer than initially planned. She must liaise with her employer to adjust her graduated return to employment due to on-going problems with vestibular migraines and the associated dizziness and cognitive fatigue.
The author has now been discharged from four of her brain injury clinics, including neuropsychology, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Vocational Rehabilitation and Vestibular Physiotherapy. While this is a success, the long wait between remaining appointments for Neuro-otology means she is not able to ask for further guidance and must cope with setbacks and changes in her condition on her own.
Her career has always been associated with the alcohol industry, and the author makes several aborted attempts at imbibing small amounts of alcohol for the first time since her acquired brain injury (ABI). This change does not sit well with her medication nor her recovery, and her career prospects remain limited as a result. The author resolves to follow her fatigue management planner carefully to avoid another setback but social and work commitments pile up while the headaches, imbalance and fatigue continue to interfere.
