Brain injury rehab Julie’s brain injury rehab sparks an adventure to independence!
For most of her life, Julie – a person we support at our specialist brain injury rehabilitation service Lorenzo Drive – was vibrant, active, and always on the go.
From an early age, she chased adventures, ensuring she explored every experience life had to offer. Navigating a rich career centred around her passions, Julie’s zest for life was cut short when she experienced mental health difficulties.
Seeking support, she struggled to engage with the services she was offered, and her life took a sudden and unexpected turn. Battling with her feelings, she turned to alcohol to help her simply get through each day.
Alcohol quickly and quietly pulled apart the threads of Julie’s life. As her mental health worsened, she sunk into the depths of addiction.
Attempting to numb her feelings, Julie was trapped in a dangerous cycle and became isolated. Neglecting her physical health, the body she once loved and celebrated was failing.
A shell of her former self, Julie soon experienced complications in her health, leading to her suffering a brain injury.
Left with extensive needs, and an underlying mental health condition, Julie’s family knew she needed specialist support. That’s when they found Lorenzo Drive. Here her expert brain injury rehabilitation team helped her confront the addiction that was weighing her down, freeing her to embark on a new adventure.
Life before brain injury
Before she suffered her brain injury, Julie pursued a career that fulfilled her biggest passions. Active and athletic, she travelled across England teaching outdoor education. As part of her active lifestyle, she also indulged her passion for swimming, eventually training as a teacher and a Lifeguard.
After having three children, she navigated a career change and became a Dental Nurse. Even then, she continued to whet her appetite for being in the water, teaching part-time and performing lifeguard duties at her local pool.
Outside her active career, Julie was a decorated athlete! Alongside regularly playing badminton and taking yoga classes, she ran three half marathons in picturesque locations across the UK. Naturally competitive and driven, Julie immersed herself in challenges, eventually climbing the highest mountain in Africa – Mount Kilimanjaro!
As a mum of three young children and pouring her passions into her work and leisure activities, Julie enjoyed keeping busy. Positive and outgoing, she immersed herself in social situations, spent time with her young family, and nurtured her close relationship with her mum.
One day, Julie’s life changed when she was involved in a car accident. With her children on board, the event had serious repercussions on her mental health. Living with the memories of what happened, she started to experience anxiety and depression. Quickly, the course of her life changed forever.
Secret struggles
Secretly struggling with her mental health, Julie knew she couldn’t carry on alone. Seeking support, she engaged with counselling. Even after frequent sessions, things still felt bleak for Julie.
She wanted to regain control of her health and solve her struggles without medication.
Try as she might, Julie struggled to navigate her mental health troubles alone. With the echoes of her memories getting louder, she couldn’t continue with daily life. Desperate to feel well again, she used alcohol to make her feel happy. Her happiness was short-lived. Each day, she increased how much she was drinking. Julie began to spiral into an alcohol addiction.
Julie was unaware of the true danger she was in. Because of her addiction, her days centred around alcohol. She’d stopped caring for herself and nurturing her body. Not eating or hydrating herself properly, her body began to fail.
Experiencing seizures and barely able to walk, Julie’s days were spent motionless in bed. On one occasion, where she attempted to move, she had a seizure, causing her to fall and hit her head.
Road to rehabilitation
When she had her last seizure, Julie suffered a brain injury. In critical condition, she was immediately admitted to hospital. Staying there for three months, her needs stemmed beyond her brain injury. After wrestling with an alcohol addiction, Julie received treatment to ease her body out of dependency and restore her health.
Once Julie was out of immediate danger, she was ready to be discharged from hospital. Remaining insightful about her condition, she respected the reality of what alcohol had done to her.
Julie understood she needed long-term support. With a goal of regaining her independence, she needed to nurture her mental health and make peace with the past, so she could move forward with her future.
With the support of her devoted mum, Julie secured a placement at our specialist brain injury rehabilitation service, Lorenzo Drive. She was hopeful being in a community-based environment with an expert brain injury rehabilitation support team would help her reclaim the independence she once thrived on.
Steps forward
When she first joined Lorenzo Drive, Julie had many physical needs. She couldn’t walk, relying on mobility aids and her support team to help her get around her new home. They also supported her with daily living tasks, like personal care. Her brain injury presented her with these obstacles, but our team quickly recognised Julie’s biggest barrier – her mental health.
Since her car accident, Julie experienced crippling anxiety. Even though she used alcohol to calm her worries, it only masked them. Our team at Lorenzo Drive understood how her anxiety would affect her confidence and stop her doing the things she used to love – including regaining her mobility.
With compassion, they encouraged Julie to engage with Physiotherapy. Outside her weekly sessions, our team introduced different functional exercises. Julie practiced her Physiotherapy exercises in everyday scenarios – like walking to the shops next to Lorenzo Drive.
Delivering person-centred support, our team took Julie’s interests into consideration in every area of her support – including her Physiotherapy. They knew she was fond of yoga and did mini classes with her in between her sessions with our Physiotherapy partner.
Recognising the positive impact Julie’s interests had on her, they also connected her with a Music Therapist. Music Therapy would support Julie’s Physiotherapy goals, particularly helping her with her gait and coordination. It also gave her an opportunity to express herself freely and find some relief away from her brain injury. A neutral space, Julie was at the centre of her sessions, where she would play her favourite songs and sing along with a huge smile!
With these clinical measures in place, our team instantly noticed a change in Julie. She was finding pleasure in living again. But they knew they had to reinforce the progress she was making and continue to manage her anxiety with holistic, wraparound support.
Offering reassurance and encouragement, they provided trusting shoulders to lean on – physically and emotionally. Establishing a solid foundation of trust, Julie’s progress gained rapid momentum, and she made big steps along her rehabilitation pathway.
Embracing interests
Soon, Julie was receiving minimal support around the home and walking independently with a mobility aid for added support. It wasn’t long before Julie’s natural determination kicked in and she started embracing things she’d abandoned in the past.
Our team at Lorenzo Drive knew Julie well and how important being active was to her. Delivering person-centred care and support, they knew her as an individual, including her likes, preferences, and interests. They knew physical activity had played an integral part in Julie’s life before her brain injury – particularly swimming.
Guided and supported by her team, Julie expressed interest in pursuing these hobbies again.So, they discussed with Julie the steps they’d need to take to get her back to her happy place – in the water!
After conducting a risk assessment with Julie’s Occupational Therapist and Physiotherapist, our support team ensured she could safely attend her local swimming pool.
Once Julie was back in the water, she felt like her old self again. Even though Julie’s confidence and thirst for life had improved, her support team noticed how different she was in the water – full of confidence.
As she rekindled the flames of a passion that alcohol dampened, Julie and her team saw big glimmers of hope for her future.
Adventure to independence
When Julie first moved into Lorenzo Drive, she experienced deep trauma from her past. She was afraid of being left alone and always received 2-1 support. Regaining her mobility and the encouragement of her support team reinforced her confidence. The faith in her abilities, which had previously been cruelly soaked away by alcohol, started flooding back.
Reducing her support needs, Julie was ready for the next step in her rehabilitation. Rising to challenges her whole life, her biggest one was just around the corner.
Early in her rehabilitation, our team at Lorenzo Drive set goals with Julie. She expressed she’d eventually like to reclaim her independence and live by herself in the community.
Lorenzo Drive benefits from a transitional rehabilitation approach. The service is split into different wings, accommodating people at each stage of their journey.
After rapidly ticking off her goals, Julie was now ready to embrace her biggest one – transitioning from residential support to a more independent setting.
Because our support teams are specially trained to understand how brain injuries affect different areas of people’s lives, they knew this would be a gradual process for Julie. Her previous fears of being alone had grown from the traumatic situation she was in when she suffered her brain injury.
After discussing this option with Julie, they started laying out plans to progress her from the main residential home to a transitional flat.
Here, Julie would benefit from a more independent setting – with her own kitchen and lounge to manage – with the added reassurance of our expert team on hand to continue her rehabilitation.
Transitioning in her own time, Julie soon got back into the swing of independent living!
Impressing everyone, she quickly proved she was ready for her next challenge – moving into one of Lorenzo Drive’s supported living apartments!
Next big steps
As if by fate, a supported living apartment became available. Julie was confident it was the right time to make this brave move.
Our team prepared her for this move. In the supported living wing, located in a separate building within Lorenzo Drive’s grounds, she would receive less support and reembrace managing daily life – like her routine and finances.
This was a big step for Julie, but she wasn’t nervous. Excited for her new adventure, she had faith in herself and her team, knowing they’d still be with her the whole way.
Our team guided her through the steps involved in her move and did things when she was ready. With careful planning and consideration for Julie’s wider needs, our team successfully supported her to move into her new flat!
Even though Julie was reembracing her independence, she still required support in daily life. Her brain injury caused memory deficits – particularly in her short-term memory – and she often needed prompting from her team.
As well as verbal prompts, her team implemented several visual tools around her flat to help her remember important things, like when her bills need paying and what appointments she has coming up. This has given Julie the chance to be more self-sufficient and manage her daily routine, which has further enriched her confidence!
With her newfound confidence, Julie now accesses the community by herself, often attending local Headway groups. Here she socialises with others who have suffered brain injuries. Being able to share her experiences with others has helped her establish new relationships and an extra branch to her support. She’s even gained the confidence to focus on re-establishing important relationships with her family too.
Re-establishing relationships
Julie always had a good relationship with her mum until she experienced issues with alcohol. This placed a strain on their relationship, and they drifted apart.
Since Julie moved to Lorenzo Drive, her relationship with her mum is repairing and they’re growing closer than before.
Our team encourage their relationship to develop by involving Julie’s mum in all aspects of her support, like supporting Julie with decision-making and setting goals. Our team maintains a rich family culture and has established a close, positive relationship with Julie and her mum – built on a foundation of honesty and trust.
Julie has also rebuilt her bonds with her children, who regularly visit her for quality time. As well as regaining her independence, one of Julie’s biggest goals is to reintegrate into her family as a loving mum and a devoted daughter.
With her fears and anxieties managed, and her passion for life burning brightly, Julie’s quickly becoming a key part of her family again – as well as remaining an important part of our family at Lorenzo Drive.
Find out more!
If you’d like to find out more about our specialist brain injury rehabilitation support and how it could help you, a loved one or a client, fill out our simple form and a member of our friendly team will be in touch.
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