Meet Ryan Co-Chair of our VodABILITY Network as he talks about brain injury awareness

Each year, a million head injuries occur in the UK, and tens of thousands of these result in a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). In 2018, I became one of of those people after being in a rugby accident. During the game, I received a significant head injury but, in the heat of the moment I decided to carry on playing. Unfortunately, I sustained another blow to the head shortly after. I have no recollection of the incident itself; my memory of that day is blank, filled in only by my teammates and medical staff. 

Following the accident, I initially refused to go to the hospital, thinking that head injuries weren't that serious and just a part of the game. It was only after being triaged in A&E that the magnitude of the injury began to set in. I spent a considerable amount of time in hospital recovering and coming to terms with my injury. I was eager to rush back to my normal life and escape hospital dinners, not fully understanding the severity of a head injury and its implications.  

I was eventually discharged with a TBI and began an arduous six-month phased return to work. However, returning to work never really felt the same as I faced numerous challenges that I hadn't anticipated. My memory and comprehension were severely impacted, and there were changes in my personality that were imperceptible to me but glaringly obvious to my friends, family, and colleagues. Day-to-day tasks became a marathon, re-learning skills and processes was slow and even making notes became a challenge.  

Over time, I have developed coping mechanisms to help me manage my work responsibilities and function as effectively as I can every day. Some of the strategies that have been particularly helpful include: 

• Making Lists: I rely heavily on lists to keep track of tasks and responsibilities. Writing things down helps me ensure that nothing important slips through the cracks and I have a reminder of contextual information. 

• Calendar Reminders: I use outlook and Gmail calendars to set reminders for meetings, deadlines, and other important events. These reminders help me stay organised and on top of my schedule even if my brain has fallen behind. 

• Buzzing Alerts on a Smartwatch: My smartwatch has been a valuable tool in managing my day-to-day activities. The buzzing alerts serve as gentle reminders for tasks and appointments, ensuring that I don't miss anything crucial. 

Further to the physical changes to my life, I found that accepting that I have a disability has been a significant psychological struggle. Like many invisible disabilities, my condition is often not easily recognised or visible to others, leading to unrealistic expectations and pressures to conform. However, that pressure can also come from within and cause psychological challenges especially when I find I can’t do something I previously have been able to. This is struggle I continue to have as even now I find it difficult to accept and often downplay my condition to avoid any further questioning, differential treatment or comparisons to more visible disabilities.  

This is a major challenge for many within the non-visible disability community. From brain injuries to chronic conditions, non-visible disabilities cause an internal conflict as well as a struggle for recognition from friends, colleagues and employers.  

I joined the VodABILITY Network as a Co-Chair last year with the intention of making a difference within the disabled community here are Vodafone in the UK and in Group. We’ve already made huge strides forward and in sharing my personal story I hope to highlight brain injury awareness and the struggle faced by those with non-visible disabilities. Hopefully, an increase in awareness can influence some chance in perceptions and offer support to those that need it.  

The VodABILITY Network is here for all disabilities and if you need support or want to help support our community.