A serious brain injury does not just impact hugely on the life of the person affected, but often on all of those close to them in their lives.
From parents and long-time partners and loved ones to friends, colleagues and children – lives can be dramatically changed in an instant forever.
Relationships change too, and a brain injury is often described by those who have experience of them as having a ‘ripple effect’ on all those around the individual affected, such is the impact it has on them physically and emotionally.
In our work at Hudgell Solicitors, we know that helping and assisting those around a brain injury victim to fully understand the impact it has, and advising them on how best they can provide effective long-term support, is crucial to helping people make the best possible recovery.
Brain injury victims need a strong network of support around them, but that support network is often not ready or prepared for the huge change ahead. They need support too.
With that in mind, it is really positive to see today marking the start of Action for Brain Injury Week 2018, which runs until May 20, and the launch of Headway’s ‘You, me, and brain injury’ campaign.
A UK-wide charity which we are proud to support at Hudgell Solicitors, it works to improve life after brain injury, providing support, services and information to brain injury survivors, their families and carers, as well as to professionals in the health and legal fields.
This new campaign will aim to increase understanding of the effects of brain injury, and follows on from last year’s ‘A New Me’ awareness campaign, which highlighted how a victim’s feelings, and how they express emotion, can change.
Dealing with such change is something which can be particularly hard for family members. Effectively, they are often left caring for somebody who seems a new person, a person who may not always appear appreciative of the help offered.
It is all about understanding the challenges a brain injury victim is facing during recovery, and how best to help keep them on track through difficult days.
Legal support covers home help to financial support and rehabilitation
When providing legal support to brain injury victims at Hudgell Solicitors, our rehabilitation support focuses on everything from home help and family assistance to managing financial affairs where needed, and planning long term clinical care.
Our focus is always around supporting people with their reintegration back into community living after a brain injury, from carrying out home assessments and adaptations to identifying whether any special aids or adaptations can minimise difficulties faced when moving back home.
We also offer “buddy” support with one of our ‘ambassadors’ who has themselves already been through brain injury rehabilitation following their recovery, and faced the physical and psychological challenges.
Such support and understanding is vital, and it is why we as a firm have been so proud to support brain injury victim Paul Spence in establishing the Paul For Brain Recovery charity and walk-in community support centre in Hull.
From first-hand experience, Paul knew people needed more support on the long and hard road to recovery, and that not only the individuals themselves need help, advice and encouragement, but those around them do to.
Paul now acts as an official ambassador for our firm, which means he and his team are available to provide vital personal support to injured people and their families, alongside the legal help of our legal specialists.
He will travel to hospital bedsides and homes to offer practical support at difficult times, offering a real insight for brain injury victims and families into how he remained positive and rebuilt his life.
It is that insight and understanding all families need during such difficult days.
A brain injury never only impacts on only one person, and that is something we keep at the forefront of our minds at all times.
There often is a road to recovery and better times for all involved, but it is crucial that families find the support network everybody needs to do it together.
