Aberdeen man Philip Hume tells how he fought back from a serious brain injury to reach his goal of returning to work with the help of Momentum's Pathways programme.
'On the morning of December 2, 2004, I suffered a massive brain haemorrhage, which was so serious I nearly died.
At one point, I was deemed to be a 'three' on the Glasgow coma scale. In case you don't know, the Glasgow coma scale is a scale of zero to fifteen, for measuring how deep a coma you are in. The lower the number, the worse the condition. At three, I was literally at death's door. It is a colossal achievement on the part of medical science - and on the part of my guardian angels! - that I am even able to tell this story now.
There are many people to whom I owe a great deal, first of all for saving my life. I had two operations - surgeons first inserted a drain into my head to control the bleeding then drilled a hole in my skull to relieve the pressure from the malformed blood vessel which had burst and bled into my brain.
Three days later I woke up. Amazingly, I could recognise my family and move my arms and legs. I was transferred from Aberdeen Royal Infirmary to Woodend Hospital for intensive rehabilitation where I progressed well physically. But the brain injury had left me with some problems, including memory loss. I'm told that one day I just stepped outside my room then asked for directions back to it!
I have to thank Momentum's Pathways programme in Aberdeen for helping me get my life back. Pathways helps people like me who have had a brain injury to relearn the skills they need to move on and regain their independence. The ultimate goal is returning to work.
When I joined Pathways in May 2005, after nearly six months in hospital, I was hopelessly out of the way of doing many everyday things. But I was determined to return to my job as an office administrator with a local company.
Pathways helped me take the first, important, step towards that goal. Fortunately my employer kept my job open for me. Pathways' employment support worker worked closely with them to make sure my return was as smooth as possible for everyone.
This is what Momentum is all about, for me! On November 7, 2005, I went back to work for the first time since taking ill. A great and joyous day! I started off working a few hours a week as Pathways helped me to build up my hours gradually. Their support was always there if I needed it and by May 2006 I was working full-time again.
One of the most valuable things I have taken from the programme, which helped me cope with my loss of memory, is my diary. I'm now stuck without it. Having learned to use it to record all future engagements, like doctors appointments and meeting friends, I also use it to keep a journal for future reference.
I now use the balance sheet at the back to keep a track of money I owe others, and what they owe me. Indeed, the balance sheets have probably paid for the diary several times over.
Pathways also provides people with job seeking skills and organises work placements. I now have an updated CV, a bank of covering letters, anf the experience of a mock interview all under my belt. I've now moved on to a new post with a different company and I'm sure those skills helped me to do that.
To my mind, full-time work leads to full-time wages and independence and I have now been able to move into my own flat. Nice one Momentum, another life rebuilt'