Kim was my lawyer for my personal injury claim; on Wednesday 24 April, she held a second book launch party for me at Boyes Turner’s office in Reading! This was very kind of her, and I hope it helped generate some further interest in my book. I reused my poster from my original book launch with Filament Publishing, and I really enjoyed speaking to various people and sampling all the canapes that night…
This event made me reflect on the importance of the legal aid I received, and how it had a huge effect on my recovery: this legal aid ensured I had access to private rehabilitation, which my family would have undoubtedly struggled to afford. Private rehabilitation centres around your exact needs and, no matter the cost, I believe it is the best way to generate some significant progression. I would strongly advise anyone affected by a TBI to do whatever they can to ensure private rehabilitation is arranged at the earliest opportunity.
I know I keep saying this, but I really do want my book to reach and help as many people as possible. Reading helped me escape, grow and learn while I was feeling utterly powerless. Having a brain injury is often a very lonely and isolating experience, so I want people to know that they are not alone. A damaged brain does not mean that you’re stupid, or incapable, or broken.
Light is always at the end of the darkest tunnel.
‘Many of the injured carry a sense of negation with them; they do feel lessened, victimized, demeaned, and insulted by their injury. And yet within the same person abides the capacity to be free of the negation. They are not insulted; they are transformed. They are not disabled, but challenged. In their resilience, they integrate their injury into a life rich with experience and fullness.’
Head Cases: Stories of Brain Injury and Its Aftermath by Michael Paul Mason