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What We Learned this Month at Oxford Head Injury Services

Fun Run team

This is the latest edition of our “What we learned this Month…..” newsletter in which we intend to open the doors of Oxford Head Injury Services so you can take a look inside and see what we have been up to, we hope you enjoy them and look forward to hearing about what you think about Oxford Head Injury Services

The Oxford Head Injury Services Rotary Club Fun Run Team works up a sweat!


Fun Run Andy crosses the line

Andy crosses the line in good spirits

On what turned out to be the hottest day of the year our Headway Runway team once again took part in the annual Oxford Rotary Club Fun Run in the beautiful surroundings of the University Parks in Oxford.

Our team once again was lead by the powerhouse that is the Bailey Family, Roz, Bob and Michelle who where joined by Andy Baker and Patrick Mills.

All completed the 5 Km course in good time despite the soaring midday heat and no doubt sustaining a few aching limbs along the way.

Fun Run Team BaileyFun Run
This thief is on the run,fun run that is!/ The Bailey’s and Andy on the course

 

It’s all going to their heads! Withy King join in the Hats for Headway fun

Hats for Headway Withy King

Hats for Headway day is one of our favourite days of the year, the traditional climax to Action For Brain Injury week that this year took place on Friday 13th May, but there was nothing unlucky about this day as so many lovely people got involved across the UK by spending the day in wacky hats to both arise awareness of the effects of brain injuries, but also to raise funds for Headway.

We popped down to see our friends at Withy King Solicitors to join in the fun and judge their Hats for Headway competition.

We where greeted by an amazing collection of headgear, but the clear winner was Monica who was quite literally a legal Eagle for the day!

withy king legal eagle

Painfully we do have to report that we also had to judge their Bake Off!, quite a spread had been laid on and competition was fierce and obviously also delicious, but in the end we chose Alison’s succulent Strawberry summery cream cake as the winner

Winner Withy King Cakes for Headway

Massive thanks to everyone who took part this year in Hats for Headway, it always such a fun day and a brilliant way of raising awareness of the effects of brain injury.

School’s in for Summer: Headway Academy opens it’s doors

UKABIF Training

Polly Archer and Emma Riley from our Community Support Worker team held another highly successful sold out Brain Injury Awareness Training Day this month. The day was held in association with Bower and Bailey Solicitors and UKABIF the Acquired Brain Injury Forum.

The training day held at our center in Kennington included.

An introduction to brain injury followed by a brief Q & A with one of our service users who has experienced a haemorrhagic stroke

:A session on the Emotional and Behavioural Effects of a brain injury with case studies from the point of view of the client and the supporting partner or family member

:A Q & A with the partner of one of our clients to talk about the carers perspective of being with someone who has sustained a brain injury

:A talk on the cognitive effects of a brain injury- focusing particularly on the hidden aspects of disability following a  brain injury with interactive 1:1  discussions and group work tasks

:An overview of the Care Act 2014 and the implications for professionals working with people who have a brain injury

:A look at Oxford Head Injury Services and the services we provide; Activity and Rehabilitation centre, Personal Assistant service and our Community Support Workers

Our Headway Academy training days have proved to be very successful, here a just a few of the comments by those who attended our first training day back in December

“I learnt about some of the cognitive issues can be masked, leading to people not getting the support they need”

“It was very useful to learn about how cognitive difficulties manifest and coping strategies that can be used”

“I loved the personal experiences of the service users and carers. The practical tasks were engaging and thought provoking. It was excellent thank you”

If your business, institution or group works with or has clients that have Brain Injury’s we can offer you a Brain Injury Awareness Training day tailored to your needs, to give you and your employees a better understanding of the effects of Brain Injuries.

If you would like to arrange your own Headway Academy training day or would like more information

please contact Claire Twinn to discuss your needs, pricing and available dates

on 01865 326263 or e-mail servicemanager@headway-oxford.org.uk

MG live club displays

Drivers to your cars: The countdown to MG Live 2016 continues

Oxford Head Injury Services is the official Charity partner for MG Live! which takes place at the world famous Silverstone racing circuit home of the British Grand Prix.

MG Live! which takes place on the weekend of June 4th and 5th is the world’s premier MG event with thousands of fans of the iconic British sports car from around the globe flocking to the home of British motor sport to celebrate their shared passion for all things MG.

Displays of the very best MGs, amazing driving skills, Lifestyle Marquee, a fantastic race programme and much more!

Oxford Head Injury Services ‘s marquee will be a the center of the event.

Here you will be able to find out more about our vital work and meet some of our clients who be our very special guests for the weekend.

We will also be hosting an exhibition of the history and development of safety devices in the motor industry and at MG whose commitment to innovation in safety over 90 years has been underlined by it’s famous slogan “Safety fast”.

Tickets for MGLive! start from £18 for a Member’s day ticket, while a weekend tickets starting at £28. With two days of racing, a packed programme of entertainment, trade stalls and much, much more, visit www.mglive.co.uk to book your tickets now.

darren flyer

“A lovely day for a walk” : Oxford Head Injury Services Personal Assistant service

Some of our clients due to the nature of their brain injuries find it difficult to perform the everyday tasks that we take for granted like popping out to get a pint of milk or pay household bills and because of this they can miss out on the all important interactions with other people that are so vital to their rehabilitation and important to all of us in life in general.

Our Personal Assistants help people overcome difficulties in day-to-day life and to lead more active and fulfilling lives. All of our staff are fully trained in supporting people with acquired brain injuries, so have specialist knowledge and skills that help them to empower clients.

They can support with activities like shopping, theatre trips, playing golf, and keeping appointments, as well as regular activities designed to engage and challenge the individual and help to increase skills and confidence, as well as being someone they can chat to over a cup of tea about everyday stuff.

Personal Assistant visits last at least 1 hour and often longer, giving quality time to get everyday tasks and problems sorted, still leaving time to have a walk in the sun or to stop off at a favorite cafe.

I recently joined one of our personal assistants Zoe and visited one of our clients. It was a beautiful spring day, a perfect day for a walk along the river and a coffee on the way, and also give me an insight to the wonderful benefits of our Personal Assistant service.

Darren path

 

A.R.C Activities this month:

Art group

Our new Art Classes have started with local artist Gary Bosher and after only one session it seems we already have many promising artists as you can see from these pictures.

art painting

 

art gallery

 

And Finally

brain-made-of-hands

Recently one of our clients at Oxford Head Injury Services marked the first anniversary of the day that changed and saved her life. She decided to put down her thoughts in words and has very kindly allowed us to share them with you.

“A Strange Anniversary. A year ago today I had surgery to remove a brain tumour, a 14 hour operation that amongst other things saved my sight and saved me (my personality). 

 It is likely that the tumour developed as a late side-effect of radiotherapy used to treat the cancer I had as a child. If you know anyone who has had cancer treatment involving radiotherapy to the head please make sure that you and they know the symptoms of meningioma. It is relatively common for people with this medical history and can take many years to develop (around 25 in my case). 

 A year after the surgery I am still healing, learning more about my brain injury and trying to develop strategies to cope. They say to expect most improvement within two years. Again, if you know anyone with acquired brain injury of any sort (eg stroke/trauma/infection) please be patient and understanding, life is rarely the same again and it takes time to adjust.

 Living with an acquired brain injury can be hard, but I am thankful to the amazing surgeons and clinical teams at the JR hospital and Oxford Centre for Enablement, the charity Headway, OXPIP and Crossroads Care, who are helping me to become a mum again. And I am so grateful for my incredible family and friends who have been wonderful. I’m looking forward to seeing what the next year will bring.”

By |May 17, 2016|Categories: Former Articles|0 Comments

ABI Week 2016: A Oxford Head Injury Services client story

brain-made-of-hands

“I can honestly say and I know I speak for many others, I look forward to going to Headway”

“We all have in common a brain injury and life can often throw up challenges, but that’s where the similarity ends.  We all encounter similar problems to varying degrees, commonly if we encounter any problem, we try to work how we can achieve it.

The brain injuries have been acquired through various causes and cause various disabilities according to how severe the brain damage was.  So each problem encountered by people with such an injury tends to be different, i.e. everyone is unique. The main trouble we all have, is that we don’t fit in the neat little boxes that we are supposed to and often forms for example, don’t take into consideration tiredness/fatigue or good days and bad days.  What I and many others like about Headway is several things:

  • You meet other individuals who really understand the problems you are having as they have often experienced the same
  • You are never judged by the service providers and are always there to help if you want help
  • The service providers help by making doing/learning fun
  • The service providers also know what’s good for you, and encourage, but never push you

I used to attend Headway many years ago and it was more like a coffee morning, but don’t get me wrong I used to enjoy it.  But it has changed, I think, for the better as there appears to have more structure to it; the latest thing being a service user group, which aims to find out what we want and not what others think we want. 

An example is wheelchair users and the pre-conceived ideas people tend to have—I was talking to someone and she had to be in a wheelchair for a short time.  She was saying that she was treated totally different and couldn’t wait to be out of the chair and that her perception of disabled people has now changed.  The really sad thing is, I’ve heard this before in fact I was probably guilty of this myself—it always happens to someone else.

I can honestly say and I know I speak for many others, I look forward to going to Headway.”

 

By |May 13, 2016|Categories: Former Articles|0 Comments

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