I am 58 years old, born and bred in Luton. I always wanted to become an engineer, but there were not that many opportunities when I was leaving school, so instead I became a mechanic with the view it was only temporary. Forty-two years later, I am still a mechanic! In 1986 I was one of the first employees at Rover. I then went to work with Volkswagen, BMW and Aston Martin. I have worked on many famous people’s cars, including King Charles and many high-profile footballers.
In 2021, after a typical Tuesday at work, I first went to visit my girlfriend and later went to pick up my daughter from London who was at a musical. I then went to bed and woke up in the night with the worst headache of my life. Lights hurt to look at, so I thought it might be a migraine. I crawled back to bed and my daughter heard me moving about and saw I needed an ambulance. I was told an ambulance would not be able to come for at least two hours, but I knew I could not bear the pain for that long. Instead, a paramedic was called and arrived in around 20 minutes. They took me to the L&D and then I was transferred to Addenbrooke’s. My blood pressure was extremely high.
I woke up the next day, looked at the clock and thought “I am going to be late for work!” I didn’t realise it at the time, but that fateful Tuesday was the last time I would be going to work. I was in intensive care with a tube in my head to drain the blood and a feeding tube in my nose. I lay there unable to talk to anyone and was sleeping for 18-20 hours a day. One day I heard this loud rattling sound and was so confused about what it was. The nurse informed me I have pneumonia, and the rattling was coming from me! My bad luck continued, and I got sepsis. Once I recovered from sepsis I went onto a stroke ward and caught Covid-19. Some of my fellow patients in the Covid ward died which was really sad to see. After a while I was discharged. There was nothing in place for me once I was discharged, so I went home and just stayed in bed for 6 weeks. Finally, I went to Hartwells which is a rehabilitation unit in Northampton. I started walking again and had physiotherapy every day. I also received some talking therapy as I had been diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety. Age Concern also came to visit and helped put in adaptations to my house. I found out about Headway through the Stroke Association (SA). The SA have a social meet up in Wardown Park and they then told me about Headway.
Claire from Headway Luton came to assess me and helped me set some goals. Physiotherapy and exercise were my top priority.
Coming to Headway is a highlight of my week. I do exercise and IT with Justin. I like learning new things on the computers as it helps me connect further with one of my daughters who is a graphic designer. Headway is also good for socialising with people who have gone through a similar life changing experience. I am also working on my concentration and manual dexterity. I really like jigsaws as it helps me strengthen these two areas.
For others who have a brain injury, I would say that you need to try to accept how you are now and your limitations, but also realise that you can improve. Keep working at it, keep battling, never give up. Everything you do is another small victory. I always try to achieve something each week no matter how small – make a cup of tea yourself, butter bread yourself. I do want to be able to drive again, and this is a big goal I am slowly working towards.
For me, John 1.0 may have gone, but I want to make John 2.0 even better version of me!
