Fighting back after seizure
A CAIRNS retiree is now happily ticking goals after an overseas accident left him with a serious brain injury.
This week was Queensland Disability Action Week and marked just over two years since Redlynch Valley resident George Burnett suffered a seizure while dining at a Bali restaurant.
In mid-June 2018, Mr Burnett had just proposed to partner Helen, and two days later he was in Nusa Dua’s BIMC Hospital with acute respiratory failure, leading to hypoxic encephalopath in which part of the brain dies.
He was back in Australia after five weeks in the hospital, but said his return to some degree of normality took many months, a stack of confidence building and “the best” disability support.
Initially reluctant to accept the NDIS into his life, Mr Burnett said it was Mission Australia’s local area co-ordinator, Tori Wood-Bradley, who helped him get back on his feet late last year.
“I hadn’t come out of the house for about 17 months at that point,” Mr Burnett said. “So, I had lost the confidence to meet people.
“I had lost the confidence because my executive functioning was affected – I couldn’t plan and I couldn’t organise.
“My communication skills were really poor and I would forget words and sentences.
“It was really challenging and, as a result of that, I didn’t want to come out into the community.”
Mr Burnett said Ms WoodBradley helped him set a “great and very detailed” NDIS plan that allowed him access the scheme and a wide range of support services.
“So, part of the plan was that I set goals and one is that I want to return to the workforce.
“I want to be able to advocate for people with disabilities and mental health illnesses.
“I also wanted to join clubs like the Edge Hill Bowls Club. Some people might think ‘Ahh, that’s nothing’, well it is for people with disabilities because you have to overcome a lot of social phobia and communication barriers.
“And I achieved this goal.”