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As part of Brain Injury Awareness Week, we spoke with our participant Stacey, to find out what it’s like to live with an acquired brain injury. You can meet Stacey here!
Name: Hi, my name is Stacey Woods. I’m 38 and I live in Southern Adelaide with my lovely husband and my four gorgeous kids ranging in age from 8 through to 15, they are all neurodivergent and our house is often busy and loud but always full of fun and antics! I also work on a very small-scale providing Support Coordination to a few participants, and in my spare time (haha!) I volunteer for Carers SA.
How long have you lived with an acquired brain injury? I have lived with an ABI since May 2019 when I had to undergo urgent surgery to remove an AVM (Arteriovenous Malfunction) from the left side of my occipital lobe. This surgery left me with only half vision in each eye as well as other neurological issues.
How does it affect your day-to-day life? Living with an ABI causes many different issues, all of which I try not to let get in the way of doing what I love and what I need to do, after all I have four little sets of eyes watching everything I do and how I navigate those challenges! Fatigue is a big issue, and learning over the years to know when I need to step away and take a break is super important in being able to continue working in both a voluntary and paid capacity, both roles bring me so much joy and I always remind myself I need to be kind to myself to be able to continue doing what I love.
What do you wish people knew about what it’s like to have an ABI? I wish people knew that everyone is different, and an ABI affects people in different ways, everyone should lead with kindness because sometimes you don’t always see how an ABI is affecting someone. Personally, for myself fatigue and sensory processing is a really big thing, and I quite often can be caught yawning, and I am always quick to explain to others it’s not because I am bored it’s because of my brain injury that I am quite often fatigued. Couple this fatigue with my vision impairment and difficulties with sensory processing and it’s a perfect storm in a teacup.
What have you found helpful? I find it helpful to play games like Spot It and Goat Cheese Taco Pizza with my children to keep my brain active. I also love volunteering within the community to keep myself engaged and not sitting at home inactive; I’m a big believer of the saying ‘if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it!’ Frequent exercise is also important to keep me moving and not becoming unstable on my feet with my poor balance.
To find out more about brain injury and the support that is available, visit Brain Injury Awareness Week – Synapse