Helen

On the 26th of March 2021 I was out enjoying the first day of my holiday in Darwin with my family. We went to a few of the local bars, followed by dinner in a restaurant at the Waterfront. At 9:30pm we all got on e-scooters to ride back to the hotel. In Darwin tourists ride e-scooters everywhere, and nobody ever wears a helmet. I travelled along okay for a while, but then for unknown reasons I fainted. I just blacked out and tipped over sideways. The side of my head hit the road with force. The impact caused my skull to fracture, and bleeding on to my brain. I lay on the road unconscious, and a passer-by called an ambulance.

I was rushed to Royal Darwin Hospital where a CT scan revealed the life-threatening injury. Neurosurgeons operated immediately. My head was shaved, and my scalp peeled back. Surgeons sawed through my skull and removed a chunk of bone. This allowed the blood to be drained off my brain. It relieved the pressure and saved my life. The bone was then put back in place and held there with three titanium plates and six titanium screws. My scalp was stuck together again with staples. The operation is called a Craniotomy.

I was left to recover in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). I was in a coma for about 12 days. There were tubes to assist my breathing and tubes to feed me. My family didn’t know if I would live or die. When I woke up in ICU. I remembered nothing and was confused, with a very poor short-term memory. My brain did not work properly at all. I don’t remember much about those days, but apparently, I had to learn to walk and talk and chew and swallow again.

Eventually I was well enough to be flown home by Medi-Jet back to Perth. I was placed into Royal Perth Hospital (RPH). I was miserable in RPH. My brain was just starting to work again, and I finally realised what had happened to me. I felt so sad. I had ruined our holiday, and I was really frightened about my future. The Doctors did not know if I would make a full recovery and be able to drive again and work again. The Doctors did not know if I would be able to live independently again.

I was transferred to Fiona Stanley Hospital Rehabilitation Centre for my rehabilitation. Rehabilitation after a brain injury takes months. As my thinking improved, I realised that bad things could happen to anyone at any time. I realised this is my life, and I must get on with living it. Just play the hand that you have been dealt. I learned all about Neuroplasticity. The process of brain recovery and regeneration. It gave me hope that I would improve. I did all my Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy. At first, I wasn’t very good at anything, but I knew I would improve and get better.

Don’t try to be the old you. There are some things that you just can’t do as well anymore, but there are other things in your life that open-up, that you can do even better. Eat healthy, drink less, and exercise. Be positive and discover the new you. Rejoice and be grateful for life Use Neuroplasticity to rewire your brain and be the person you want to be.

I attended FSH for 12 OT sessions. After that a private OT visited my house and she
helped me to return to work. I am a police officer, so my goal was to get back to being fully operational and working fulltime. It took many months of slowly increasing light duties and short hours, but I got there.

We returned to Darwin and enjoyed the holiday we had originally hoped for. I met the woman who had phoned 000 for me. I hugged her, and I told her she had saved my life.

“My brain is not perfect and my memory is not perfect, but I am leading a good life. I like to think I am better than before.”