My story of my mental health begins on a high, and hopefully will also end in one. I am a 27 year old, new radio broadcaster. After graduating from New Zealand Radio school in 2008, (aged 25), graduating very high, 3rd overall, and scholarships along with it. I quickly gained a radio broadcasting job in Ohakune, as a breakfast host, and also handled a lot of, if not all of the material that went to air. I was also in charge of an area of radio, Promotions.

Here, I was eager to do anything to help my station, and clients. This led to me entering a triathlon for a client, to represent my station. I am a fit, able, young man, and was very willing to give it a go. The date was 17 September, 2009. After a fine start, I got to the bike leg, in which I had to come down a mountainside, Mount Ruapehu. I had an unfortunate accident, where I fell off my bike, and I was knocked unconscious. I was quickly attended to, and the Westpac Rescue helicopter was called in for me. I was taken to Waikato hospital, in Hamilton, where I was assessed, and diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury.

I stayed in Waikato hospital for 2 months. I have 2 sisters, 1 of which lives in Australia. She heard about my accident, and was quickly by my bedside, and she did not leave for over 2 months. At the request of my family in Blenheim, I was transferred to a Brain Injury rehabilitation centre in Porirua, to be closer to them. I was still unconscious when I was moved, and did not regain consciousness for another 2-3 months at the rehabilitation centre. I was here for 6 months. I had to learn to do absolutely everything again, walking, eating, independence, and talking.

The talking bit was a bit of a problem, as my chosen career path was in the radio industry, and my previous job was a breakfast host. It took me a month or so, after regaining consciousness, for me to learn to speak again. I was still slurring, and did not stop until long after I was out of the rehabilitation facility.

In the rehabilitation facility, I was cared for by nurses, doctors, and therapists, who I still keep in contact with, and very happy to call them friends. I did manage to meet numerous friends who were also admitted for brain injuries, and was very happy, as I grew some very good friends, in patients, too. I still keep contact with these people too, and I feel very comfortable talking to them, and also their family members, if they are still in care. My family, close friends, and acquaintances, were, as you’d expect, extremely worried. I was lucky to have frequent visits from my parents, sister, and nephew who lived in Blenheim at the time, and also my girlfriend, at the time, who was in Ohakune, where my accident occurred. I had frequent contact with her, and am glad that we can still call eachother friends. I realize this was hard for her, she was in Europe at the time of my crash, and Im sure she found it extremely hard to keep the hopes of our relationship continuing. This had a big course change to it, as I later on, found out.

My therapists were absolutely stellar, and I could not have asked for any better, I was extremely lucky. In my 4 months or so, of consciousness at the facility, to have my visitors. My parents, and girlfriend, at the time, were brilliant, and could not have got to where I am today, without them. They had frequent visits with my head occupational therapist, concerning my status updates, with my normal everyday activity, interaction with people, and progress with my recovery.

As I neared toward 8 months since my initial diagnosis of a brain injury, I was obviously looking forward to returning to my previous job, previous life, as a fun loving, can do anything radio announcer. At the time, I did not understand the effects that were still very easy to see, of my brain injury. I was informed in September, 2010, that I will be released in October.

I was obviously ecstatic about this, and eagerly awaited to return to my previous life as a very talented radio announcer in Ohakune. My girlfriend at the time was a girl who I thought about every day I was in hospital. We spoke on the phone every evening, and when I was told I was to be allowed to go home, plans were initially made by more myself, for me to go back to Ohakune, to continue in my radio career, and to live with my girlfriend. At the time all the decisions, and plans for me to return to Ohakune were being made, I remember thinking that, ‘Yes I’m OK now!’ I was told frequently before my release that because my brain injury was such a traumatic one, effects of this injury will last for years to come, up to 7. I can admit now, I did not believe them, I thought I was fine, and that was why they were releasing me. I can admit now, I was not OK. I did not realize that all my very big abilities and assets I had, I was not able to do a lot of them, and if I could, I could not do them as easy as beforehand.

My girlfriend at the time was a girl from Wales, and working on a Visa, which expired the same month I was to be released to join her in Ohakune. She did apply for a renewal of Visa, but was declined, so that meant she had to leave the country, and return to Wales. This was a devastating blow to me, as I had very big feelings for her. I had another obstacle sho9rtly after I found this out, my previous radio station I was employed at, was being sold, and left me jobless, and also meant that I was unable to return to Ohakune. Plans were quickly changed for me. I was now organized to move back to my original home in Blenheim, with my parents, nephew and sister.

I moved home, and although I felt like I must have been back to normal, I was far from it, and did not realize it at the time. I was still being attended to, weekly, by therapists from ACC. I had 2 frequent therapists; one handled my physical aspects of recovery, which needed as much work on as my mental health. I also had an Occupational therapist come to see me each week, to deal with my mental health. I was set tasks to do as homework each meeting and they are easy tasks now, but were tasks that involved me having to think for myself, do some planning, and communicate with the public. These tasks were simple, included shopping, investigating pricing for everyday needs and where I could get these, How I could travel there, quickest route, and many more easy, everyday tasks, I found to be a challenge. I was starting to realize my Mental Health had been affected, and it was at this time, that I began to accept the advice being given to me.

One of the main goals for me was to get back on the radio, something I loved doing, and was well qualified for. It was also 1 of the hardest industries to get into, and because I was a relative new entrant before the accident, I was, once again, a beginner when I was released from hospital. One of the main points brought up by my Occupational Therapist was for me to try some voluntary work in radio. As my qualifications and background in radio was good for a beginner. I was quickly taken by a major radio employment company in Blenheim. Understandably, I was started at the bottom of the radio industry ladder, simply, to give out prizes, put on a smile, and hand out brochures etc. I was rather disappointed, as my previous job had me as the person who did everything, and told everyone what to do. This was where I found my Mental health was far from the best. Although I was able to hide it, I was getting fatigued after working for just 2 hours, and I was being told myself, what to do, as I did not know what to do.

I kept going through this, and I did feel confidence coming back with everything. After around 6 months in Blenheim, I felt great, and could see the difference that time, and support from my therapists, family and friends had made. My Physical, and mental stature had been lifted a massive amount. Physically, I had been working out every night, for an hour or 2, and I could see massive progress, with both, my physical stature, and also my looking at the exercise programmes I had updated every week, by my physical therapist. My Occupational Therapist had a big job, and I did not realize this until I made my first big decision.

That decision was to leave home, not just to live by myself, but I decided to move to Wellington to chase my radio career. This was a huge step for me, I had organized to do some voluntary work at a station in Wellington, and this meant I had to also organize how I was to live there. I was being cared for by ACC still, and this is still current to this day. I was easily transferred to a Case manager in Wellington, and was also asked if I needed help for finding accommodation, travel, and any help I may need packing, etc. I am very stubborn, and this showed, as I declined the offer, and said I would do it all myself. I did this, organizing my transport, of myself, and all of my gear to Wellington, a flat in Wellington, and expenses myself in a matter of days. This was an unbelievable accomplishment, and I did not realize it, until I moved to Wellington. I am still extremely grateful to my parents for absolutely everything. I was lucky in the fact I had stayed in the flat that I was to live in when I was at tertiary, and they were looking for a new flat mate.

Once moved in, I suddenly realized I had chosen to be independent, cooking, looking after myself, and making my own decisions. I was scared, for the first time. I had to do all home care for myself, on my own, and I am too stubborn to ask for help. Thankfully, I had been taught, again, by therapists, how to do a lot of normal, everyday chores, from cooking to cleaning, and a lot of in between. I was able to do all of what I was taught, cooking, preparing what I was going to do during the week, organize a gym to attend, how I was going to pay, and much more. I was even given charge of being in control of our internet, and phone bill, which was daunting at the time. Organization was something that really was drummed into me, and because of this, I was able to do this easily, along with all of my personal bills, debts, etc.

My voluntary work at the radio station I had moved to Wellington for in the first place, was a great re-learning curve for me. I had help from many of my previous tutors at Radio School, and many friends, I had in the industry, all over the country. I had that one goal to get my radio job back. During my rehabilitation, I had also been shown how to make CVs, and prepare for an interview, etc. I spent close to a year in the flat in Wellington, and had applied for over 50 jobs in the radio industry, all while volunteering at a small station in Wellington. I was shortlisted for a radio announcing job for Classic Hits, one of the big stations in New Zealand. I was interviewed on the phone, during this conversation; we got to the topic of why I was no longer employed in Ohakune, which led to me telling her about my Traumatic Brain Injury recently. I was stunned, and felt a bit let down, when she revealed she was a nurse a few years beforehand. She was asking a lot about my recovery, and admitted, she was extremely surprised after I told her my road up until then, and how far I had come. I was not offered the job, but kept applying, with little success. I was about to give up with the radio industry, as the Brain Injury/Mental Health problems, was enough to put employers off. I was, and still am, suffering short term memory lapses. My remedies for this are helping a lot with my organizational skills.

At home, I was feeling better, and getting more independent everyday. I was able to cook for myself, follow instructions easily, and keep fit, healthy, and well organized and on time with everything. I did have friends who weren’t exactly close friends at the time, but grew to be my best friends. I met up for lunch, dinner, movies, and even just short walks to kill time, and interaction with others. I am still meeting up with these people today. These small interactions were very helpful for my brain injury recovery. I had frequent contact with these friends. It was great to be interacting with others again. I was now well aware of what my mental health issues were. I had hopes with everything, from relationships, job expectations, to my personal life. In all of these aspects of my life, which I had no problems with in the past, I had a big Mental Health obstacle in my way, but continued to keep trying.

It is a long, and hard road on the recovery from my mental health issue/Traumatic Brain Injury. I can still remember how I used to have a lot of difficulty learning new things to do, and even learning how to do things again, from something as easy as tying a shoelace, to learning how to cook, look after my job, and learning my chosen career path again. Something which I worked very hard towards, and spent a lot of money learning.

One of the major obstacles I had was the loss of drivers license, because of my injury. This was a big blow to me, as I had a lot of driving to do for my career. I was able to resit my driver license around a year after my release from rehabilitation. I remember now, thinking that this will be easy. I was far from right. I was a danger to other motorists, and, therefore, I was not allowed my license back. I understood this, and this was really the time that the fact I still had a Brain Injury/Mental Health injury, truly kicked in. This kicked me into gear for recovery, and from here, I became understanding, and gladly accepted all help offered to me.

I was active in my recovery strategies, and exercise, until this very day. The hard work toward my Drivers License paid off. I had to wait for another 6 months, before I was able to resit my license, but this really did surprise a lot of people, including myself, I passed my resit. Since doing this, I have done 2 long drives. 1, I drove with my sister from Wellington up to Kaitaia, Northland, (over 700 kilometres), in bad driving hours, between midnight and 6am. I also drove from Wellington to Auckland, and return, by myself. I was stoked, as both of these trips went without any hiccups, and am still continuing to drive alone frequently.

Another obstacle that I need in my career, and was extremely good at, and had been for my whole life, was multi-tasking. I had been extremely good at multi-tasking with most, if not all of my jobs in my life. I could not do this when released from hospital, I could barely talk to someone while tying my shoelaces, when I was released from hospital. This was an obstacle I overcame with time. This was one of many of the obstacles, which I did not have any control over. I could not help myself recover from this, all I could do was keep challenging myself. I did this by trying to organize my friends and families life, without them knowing.

I was also a very good, very fast learner before my Brain Injury. This was an attribute appreciated by every boss I have had in the past, as well as myself. I could not learn anything new when released from rehabilitation. I was advised to do voluntary work, which I accepted. I had 2 voluntary jobs in my recovery stage, both in radio. I was accepted by a radio station in Blenheim, where I was doing a lot of promotional work, giving out prizes, and doing odd jobs around the station. The main reason I moved to Wellington, was so I could volunteer for a small show on a radio station. I was offered the show, gladly, by the station manager. Without knowing, I was recovering while working, teaching myself to do skills in my trade, in which I knew how to do easily before my Brain Injury.

As I mentioned before, I kept in contact with previous acquaintances in the radio industry in many different ways all over New Zealand. I did some voluntary work for a station on The Kapiti Coast, Beach FM, when I was at radio school, and still kept in contact with people that were still currently employed there. I was asking about work, and was suggested to be a possible employee by one of current employees. I was called in early October, 2011, and what I had worked towards, and made big life decisions for myself had paid off, and I had gained my radio job, 2 years after I had sustained my brain injury, and around a year of applying for over 50 jobs all over New Zealand.

I have been employed at Beach FM, on the Kapiti Coast for 8 months, still being helped out by ACC to this day. I do still suffer from some memory lapses, but I have been taught strategies in how to combat this problem. Since starting the job, I have a pad, in which I write all of my day’s tasks on as a checklist, and also write a lot of things on my cell phone, to remember. Memory loss is, thankfully, the only issue I still suffer from, that I have noticed, but I have strategies to avoid memory lapses, so am thankfully living quite happily.

At my radio station, I was originally employed as a copywriter, (person who writes ads), but with hard work and determination, I have managed to turn this job into much more. I am now a very trusted employee who can, and does do anything on a radio station, far beyond what is expected of me, when I was originally employed. My mental health is still affecting me, but I have strategies in place for me to avoid the problem from affecting my work. I still, to this day use my strategies. I frequently write reminders in my cell phone, write in my diary, write in my work diary, and meet with my very good friends on the Kapiti Coast, and Wellington.

I have come to grips with the consequences, and I am now, well and truly on the road to recovery. A lot of this has to do with the support of others. Friends and family have really pulled me through my recovery stage, and I still have dreams, that are now becoming a lot more achievable than 2 years ago. What I urge everyone to try and understand, not only Brain Injuries, but any mental health issues with a friend, family member, or even the smallest of acquaintances, it’s not easy. Mental health issues are not just a normal sickness, where you can take a medicine, or pill, and everything is better soon enough. It takes time to recover, that nobody gets to choose. I am still giving myself strategies to avoid my issues I still have my problems, and I now understand that I am still in recovery process.

I was fit, active, and very much into my sports before my brain injury, and recently, I have completed a season of cricket, and often playing squash, and ten pin bowling every week. I am also keeping my brain active by working very hard, many hours more than I am employed to do, and also competing in Quiz nights every week.

The major obstacles are hard to avoid. After the devastating blow in hospital, I am still struggling with relationships, and have not been in one since. My memory is not 100% just yet, but is getting there. Mental Health Issues are far mis-understood. The biggest medicine for recovering is time. 2 years, hard work, determination, and the help from friends and family have got me to where I am today. I am now living the life I had been, as a successful radio broadcaster, who enjoys life, and is looking forward to the future.