Justin’s story – rehabilitation and recovery at Priory Egerton Road

Justin’s story – rehabilitation and recovery at Priory Egerton Road

Justin came to live at Egerton Road having suffered an aneurysm, which caused an acquired brain injury. He had previously been an active and healthy man, living with his partner and two children. He was a freelance artist/graphic designer and enjoyed learning and teaching Wing Chun in his spare time. He also likes photography and enjoys using his camera.

When Justin first arrived at Egerton Road, he appeared euthymic in mood, but would often choose to spend the majority of his time alone in his room.

Justin was assessed by the occupational therapist in the areas of personal and domestic daily living skills, and road safety. Justin also completed an interest checklist where he was able to highlight a number of activities he enjoyed and would like to take part in. From this, a timetable was created, with a balance of self-care, leisure and productive activities that Justin could use to structure his week and our team could focus on for support.

Our psychology team developed a further understanding of Justin’s cognitive abilities and provided him with one-to-one cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) sessions. This helped Justin develop the necessary skills to manage the bouts of low mood and low motivation he was often experiencing. One-to-one brain training sessions also helped to enhance his cognitive abilities such as memory, fluency and visuospatial abilities.

The team made sure Justin’s partner was closely involved in his rehabilitation, and over time, Justin began to make friendships with other residents and staff. Justin’s main rehabilitation goals were as follows:

• Increase independence and transfer skills to his own home environment
• Continue physical therapy stretches in order to improve strength, co-ordination and the functional use of both upper limbs
• Keep structure with a balanced weekly timetable of meaningful activities
• Learn the necessary skills to manage periods of low mood and motivation

It was clear to the team that structure allowed Justin to progress more positively. This included getting the papers every day from a local shop, maintaining a role at a local charity shop, and sorting books at a distribution centre.

Justin also received a weekly budget to buy ingredients and cook once a week. He also occasionally attended the weekly baking group, where he continued to improve his skills and cooking knowledge.

Since his admission here, Justin’s overall mood has improved. He has become more sociable, engaging with his fellow residents more and participating in events and activities. Justin has become more independent with his medication regime, coming to the office at correct times, and has improved in his personal care routine, continuing to work on reducing the time he spends in the bathroom.

Justin’s presentation remains euthymic. He is congruent in his speech and emotions and now uses humour to mediate interpersonal relationships. Instead of being in his room alone, he started using the communal areas, watching TV and playing games with his peers.

We are so proud, that with the skills Justin has learnt during his time at Egerton Road, he has now completed his rehabilitation plan and returned home to his wife and children. We have put some support in place to help him build his life independently in the community and retain all the skills he has learnt.