PatA ChallengePat writes and illustrates short fictional children’s stories. In the following story she has drawn on her experiences in hospital as a patient with an acquired brain injury resulting from a car accident. Julie and her parents had an horrific car crash. Her Mum and Dad escaped with some minor fractures and bruising. However, Julie was unconscious for over two months and suffered from a traumatic brain injury. Slowly she came around. At first she was aware of voices around her. Some sounded familiar, others were quite strange, although everyone seemed to know her, because they called her "Julie", and told her that she had had a bad accident, and was now in the Brain Injury Unit, Sydney. Gradually Julie realised that the familiar voices belonged to her parents and it was not long before she was able to open her eyes and take in the activity around her. She tried to talk, but she had a tube in her throat which made speech impossible. One of the nurses explained that she had had a tracheotomy, helping her to breathe while she was unconscious. Now that she was awake and able to breathe on her own, the tube was removed. Julie felt much better, despite having a sore throat. As she became more awake, she asked herself many questions, like "What has happened to me?" "Where am I now?" "Why can’t I remember?" She knew what she wanted to say, but somehow she couldn’t put it into words. She also found she couldn’t taste food. Someone brought her some chocolate which she used to love, but now she found it tasted awful - like solidified fat. She couldn’t smell anything - not even the tasty dishes her mother prepared. So Julie decided not to eat, but she had to - the nurses insisted. The left side of her body was also affected. She couldn’t move the fingers of her left hand or bend her arm. She couldn’t pick up things. This caused her many problems and she became very depressed at the thought of not being able to play her guitar. Her left ankle was also sore. She couldn’t walk because it wouldn’t do what she wanted it to. However she was given a wheelchair, which she learnt to move around in. Julie felt extremely frightened and depressed. Most people around her - the doctors, nurses and mostly her parents tried reassuring her that, given time, she’d be fine. But because she had difficulty talking she couldn’t express how she was feeling, and she often got angry and frustrated. She thought that she’d never be the same as she was before the accident. She had dreamed of becoming a professional pop-singer, however those hopes now seemed dashed. She couldn’t even speak properly, let alone sing, and with her hand and arm injury, there was no way she’d be able to play a guitar. Her life seemed to be one series of insurmountable obstacles. Julie was emotionally fragile. The therapists at the Brain Injury Unit spent a lot of time with her - in speech therapy she was shown how to pronounce everyday words and how to manage daily courtesies. The physiotherapist showed her how to walk, started her off on hydrotherapy and gave her a walking chair. At times the therapy seemed quite easy, but at other times it was very hard. She became angry and frustrated because it all seemed to take so long. Julie had never imagined that her life could be so difficult. When friends came to see her, she was pleased at first. But after a while she became cranky, for she could not deal with the fact that they were out there leading their lives while she felt trapped in the hospital. She couldn’t believe that her own life would ever be normal again, and she was rude to friends coming to visit her. They brought her gifts, but she didn’t open them. However, one day, she did open one and it was a Kylie Minogue CD. Amazingly, listening to that CD of Kylie singing, lifted her mood. Then she asked her mother to bring in some Mariah Carey and Casey Chamber’s CDs. When the physiotherapist noticed the positive effects of music, she suggested that Julie take part in aqua aerobic classes in the heated pool. So daily a nurse would take her down to the water. Julie was surprised to find that although her muscles were very stiff, the exercises in the pool didn’t hurt at all and she soon started to look forward to her daily "work-out". As she began to make more and more progress, a Diversional Therapist came to work with her. A specialist teacher came to help her make the transition back to school. She gave lessons in English and Maths, which Julie found quite distressing at first. Her reading was so slow and she felt that she had forgotten all the maths she had ever learnt. Julie enjoyed watching T. V. Her favourite program was Popstars, by chance she saw an ad for Kylie Minogue’s upcoming concert at the Entertainment Centre. She longed to go, but being in a hospital, she felt there was no chance. However, her Diversional Therapist thought it would be helpful for her to go and had a quiet word with her mother. Julie was thrilled to receive an early X-mas present - tickets for herself and two friends to Kylie’s concert. The night out at the Entertainment Centre was a great success. Julie was totally transported and involved in the experience. Being with her friends she felt that for a time her life was back to normal. She forgot all about being in hospital and the struggle to gain her old skills. However, when the concert was over she was confronted by the reality of her situation. Back at the hospital, Julie approached her therapy with a new determination. She set herself a daily timetable (like at school). After morning tea, she would do her school work. In the afternoon, after aqua-aerobics she practiced her guitar. At other times during the day, she would socialise with the other patients, but whenever she could, she escaped to the hospital gardens to practice her singing, with her CD Walkman and headphones she sang along with Kylie in her own private concert. Eventually, Julie was progressing so well that the doctors thought it was time for her to go home. She was so overjoyed and apprehensive at this news. Six months of her life had passed and she had been advised that it would be some time before she regained her full competence. However, Julie could hardly wait to be home again enjoying her mother’s cooking, sleeping in her own room with all her familiar things around her and hanging out with her friends. Poems by Pat LedlinAUTUMNCooler days OUR HARBOURColours of sky, clouds and rocks ROCKINGOn our harbour aboard a boat SUMMER FADINGAfter the chilling winds blow | |
 |
Liverpool Hospital
Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit |
|
