Hi Rayna,

I am also in my early 30s and have had approximately 10 concussions starting at age 9. We are in quite an exclusive club!

Also, I am in the process of returning to work which carries the risk of further concussions (working in a hospital with potentially violent offenders with mental health problems).

I have had many different thoughts about whether or not I have been wanting to return to this job. On the one hand it seems totally crazy to put myself back in that position. However, when the practicalities of not returning are considered, they too are very difficult.

During my return to work I have been very fatigued and far less efficient. I am sure that I could not have coped with the expectations which a new job would have placed upon me, meaning that I would have had to have been out of work for pretty much a whole year before I became well enough . And when you've been out of work for a whole year for health reasons I imagine it's very hard to find a job anyway.

Since people at my current workplace knew me as pretty efficient and hard working they could see my problems were due to the injury. I have been allowed to return to my old job gradually, and to have reduced duties which reduce the risk of difficulties for me. Particularly, for months I worked only part time and only did admin work, without any direct patient contact at all. This meant a lot of time on the computer, which was very boring and not very good for me, but it meant I wasn't going to get hit or buffetted which was more important.

These factors left me with little choice but to return to my old job despite the dangers. They will not and have not been happy for me to avoid dangerous situations forever, but I was able to find my feet, earn some money and do some useful work using this return to work plan, many months earlier than would have been possible if I had been required to work normal duties. I don't think I see myself staying there long term as I definitely need to move somewhere where there is less risk of a head impact, but the risk of being hit at my current job vs the risk of not being able to cope with another job is a tough one to balance.

The route I have taken has been tough but seems to have worked fairly well. So I would advise you to try to return to work (only when you are ready, and it doesn't sound to me like you are ready just yet) on reduced duties which DON'T involve wrestling with anyone. Do all the boring stuff noone wants to do, writing up reports or whatever admin there is in your job. Here in the UK employers have some sort of legal responsibility to make 'reasonable adjustments' to your duties as long as there is something useful you could be doing, and a lot of what Occupational Health do is advise on this.

Then, once you think you are well enough to cope with the demands of a new job, start looking.

And by the way, you are not being a wimp. It doesn't matter how tough you are, if your brain doesn't work properly then it doesn't work properly. You wouldn't ask if you were being a wimp if you couldn't run on a broken leg, would you?

All the best!