Thomas* injured his back and sustained a spinal cord injury when he fell backwards down a lift shaft in an accident at work. He fell approximately 25ft and had to have surgery on his back because of his injuries. Initially, Thomas believed he might never walk again, but with extensive support he’s now relearned to walk and is back at work.
The challenges faced by Thomas
After his accident, Thomas was really worried about how his injuries would impact his whole life. He’s a dad with young children, so he was scared about how it might affect his relationship with his kids.
- Thomas was also out of work for quite some time, which put a lot of financial strain on the family and impacted Thomas’ mental health.
- Due to his ongoing pain, Thomas struggled to sleep and get comfortable, and he was also eager to learn to drive an adapted vehicle.
How we helped with these challenges
We started supporting Thomas and his family while he was still undergoing rehabilitation at a specialist spinal injury unit. To make sure this rehabilitation continued when Thomas returned home, we sought funding for early bespoke neurophysiotherapy while his case was ongoing.
- Through the intense private neurophysiotherapy, Thomas relearned to walk, and his mobility continued to improve so that he could bend and lift his young daughters.
- We used money to pay for a specialist profiling bed to help Thomas to sleep more comfortably and also got psychological support to help him with his mental health as a result of being unable to work and for dealing with the trauma of the incident.
The results and outcome
- Thomas’ improved mobility meant he was able to go back to work but in a different role to the one he had before
- We also got funding to cover the losses Thomas had experienced because of not being able to work.
- As well as supporting Thomas with his concerns, we also provided support to his family making sure they were taken care of too.
*not his real name
