My Experience After a Traumatic Brain Injury - Back At Work Again

BACK AT WORK AGAIN

I was informed by the people I was training with that something was wrong and I should talk to my doctors.  Doctors need to be educated on the fact that patients who've had a brain injury don’t have the best judgment and some decisions – like this – should be left to the doctor's discretion, especially if they're not willing to share the potential repercussions based on classic brain injury symptoms, including memory and concentration, behavioral and personality changes, fatigue, etc., if someone goes back to work.  These deficits can affect a person's contribution to the work place and that affects an employer's productivity.  People who have had a brain injury are not good decision makers especially if they really want to go back to work.

I had been working a full-time job and also working at my reserve unit many more hours than the obligatory one weekend a month.  Later my neurologist sent me to another neuropsychologist who verbally told me I never should have been sent back to work (but he didn't include that in his written report).  In retrospect, I don’t believe the neurologist trusted the results of the “outside” neuropsychologist.  This neurologist should have initiated neuropsychogical testing and sessions with an occupational therapist and/or speech pathologist at the first sign I was exhibiting cognitive dysfunction and not after I lost my job.

I worked for about a year.  I continued to have issues with fatigue and organization.  I got angry easily, and one time I was accused of being threatening and told to go home.  I was ultimately fired and later retired on disability about a year and one-half after my brain injury.