Michael will live the rest of his life with an acquired brain injury (ABI) as a result of pushing his body to the point that it couldn’t go on.
A career of 20 years in heavy industry saw Michael rewarded with a leadership role, he not only had to ensure production, but he was responsible for other people. A normal 10 to 12 hour workday often dragged out to 14 and 16 hours, days off were spent answering phone calls from the site or ‘Catching up’ on work that just “Had” to be done.
Work/Life balance became Work/Work balance with a bit of life thrown in when it didn’t interfere with the job.
Something had to give, and it was Michael’s body. He walked out his front door not feeling quite right but knowing he had to get to work and he collapsed on his driveway and was found by his neighbor unconscious and not breathing. His head had fallen onto his chest and blocked the supply of oxygen to his brain.
Michael is now affected by; short term memory loss, impaired cognitive function, limited attention span, hypersensitivity to noise and bright light among other health and well-being impacts. Michael was diagnosed with an ABI, Anxiety, Depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
