Giles tells of living with a brain injury
COPING WITH ADDED COVID-19 DIFFICULTY
THE pandemic has been difficult for everyone, never mind if you are suffering from an acquired brain injury.
But that is exactly what Giles Hudson, of Eaglescliffe, has lived with for the past 34 years, caused by a life-threatening head injury in a car crash.
After three months in a coma and six months with post-traumatic amnesia, Giles has continued to improve, and now wants to share his experience with others. He said: “As a survivor of a major lifethreatening head injury, I constantly face significant challenges in our society, as does a significant element in the population living with hidden or physical disability.
“I must constantly manage the difficulties posed by memory problems, difficulty in orientation, daily periods of fatigue, anxiety, feeling isolated and adapting to the things society takes for granted.”
Born in 1966 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, Giles moved to Yarm in 1978.
When he was just 19 years old, Giles was involved in the car crash that changed the rest of his life. In December 1985, he was travelling on the A67 from Kirklevington to Yarm when the accident happened.
“I was the driver, avoiding another car which was driving on the wrong side of the road on a bend overshadowed by trees. I was cut out of the car by ambulance crew and taken to Middlesbrough General Hospital,” Giles said.
Medical professionals gave Giles a 25% chance of surviving through the first few nights following his head injury, but he has gone on to recover beyond their expectations.
However during the pandemic, Giles’ situation has been made worse by the need for social distancing and additional threats caused by Covid-19.
He said: “I’d like to highlight that there are other life challenges that people struggle with, not just the crisis caused by Covid-19.
“People living with an acquired brain injury (ABI) meet such life challenges every single day and have to find the solutions to maintain a quality of life whilst navigating the discrimination and lack of understanding offered by society.”
Shopping can be challenging in ordinary circumstances for those living with disabilities, but the pandemic has brought changes which have caused anxiety and further confusion for people.
“For me and other disabled people, our inability to react quickly to risk makes us quite vulnerable and feel very unsafe. As you may appreciate, our circumstances make living life safely during the pandemic very challenging.
“I am extremely concerned about my ability to cope in the period of transition during the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, which will make the future even more challenging as we transition to a new social normal,” Giles added.
By looking at Giles, there is no outward sign of the challenges he faces each day as his symptoms are invisible.
The sunflower lanyard he wears, with attached ID card, was created to inform people the wearer has hidden disabilities. Giles admits he feels more confident and reassured when wearing it, but added: “I have difficulty getting support when I seek it and ‘need it’, and feel very uncomfortable always highlighting the fact that I have a disability to the public.”
Due to his ABI, Giles’ skills and abilities, under the umbrella term ‘executive function’, have been damaged and compromised, including his concentration, problem-solving, self-awareness and decision making.
Due to this, Giles often struggles to find support to progress in life and keep himself safe.
“Being the type of person who constantly seeks solutions when faced with problems, I became aware of an amazing solution, Welcome App, from a Scottish company called Neatebox,” Giles said.
The customer service platform enhances relationships between staff and visitors, allowing users to create a personalised accessibility profile that informs the venue of the arrival of the person with disabilities.
Giles became aware of the Welcome App in late 2017, after seeing a similar app on social media, which focused on supporting the blind community.
“I saw how its use could benefit people addressing the challenges in the community presented by brain injury,” Giles added.
For Giles, the app has provided a solution to the daily challenges he faces, and he believes it could improve the lives of others.
More information about how Welcome works is available https://bit. ly/38gm9tk.