In 2002, James received the phone call that everyone dreads, his partner had been involved in an accident and he needed to get to hospital quick – she had been knocked down and received a traumatic brain injury.
Although parts of her care were good, James said that hospital staff didn’t take the time to help him fully understand what was happening to his partner.
He said: “It was very frightening, she was suffering from post-traumatic amnesia and I had to continually explain to her what had happened.
“Although I visited her every day, she was always surprised to see me, as if she didn’t expect me to arrive. It was quite upsetting.”
James said it was at this stage that he and his family would have benefited from the support of a Headway Acute Trauma Support nurse (HATS).
He said: “It would have been ideal for us to have the support of a HATS nurse.
“The service and personalised care they provide would have been a tremendous help at that point. They would have been able to help us understand what symptoms to look out for and what recovery might look like.
“They would have been able to put our minds at ease and help us understand that many of the things that were happening were normal and wouldn’t last.
“Sadly it felt like the hospital just wanted to discharge her as quickly as possible and when my partner returned home she continued to have problems with her memory as well as cognitive issues.
“Although we found lots of really helpful information on Headway’s website, nothing is better than that personal touch.”
Each year the society’s President nominates a charity and James wanted to choose two given that 2018 is its bi-centennial year. The other charity he nominated was the Jeff Astle Foundation.
The money raised for Headway will go towards our HATS service in the West Midlands and our Justice Project.
James said: “The Justice Project is a subject close to my heart. As a criminal law specialist I see the potential for head injury to remain a hidden disability within the criminal justice system.
“The concept of an ID card is also great. To help practitioners and the judiciary to better understand the impact of head injury struck me as excellent progress.”
James said he was delighted that his year could help two charities with similar ambitions.
He said: “I believe that head injuries don’t receive enough coverage so it is great to be able to support two wonderful charities that are doing great work in that area.
“Over the next twelve months we have a host of fundraising opportunities and aim to help to raise awareness of brain injury, the impact of concussion in sport, and the resources available on the road to recovery.”
Jo Plant, Director of Fundraising for Headway, said: “We are delighted that James decided to nominate Headway and take on the challenge Baton for 2018.
“I am pleased that Headway was able to provide support to James and his partner through what must have been a very distressing time. The money the Birmingham Law Society raises will without doubt help many more families like James’ whose lives can be thrown into turmoil following a brain injury.”
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