Advice and PCS
 

Hi Guys,

Really hoping I can get your advice. I was diagnosed with PCS following an auto accident in February 2018, a year into moving to the US. My life was great, lots of friends, busy social life, interesting well-paid job. Unfortunately not being able to follow conversations from more than one person made it hard to socialize and my social life dwindled. I lost my job but thankfully was able to claim disability which kept me going.

Unfortunately, my disability payments came to an end a few months ago and I am having problems getting hold of unemployment (I've been disqualified as they are saying I still have health issues and cannot claim) and am currently really struggling financially to make ends meet, lending money from family etc to get by.

I'm applying for jobs and feel I am somewhat able to work, but not to the level I did before, and feel less sharp, memory/concentration issues/lower IQ etc, I really don't want to give up on my dream of living in the US (Since I was a kid) but feel like I desperately need the support of my family at the moment as I feel v much like my friends here don't understand and can't provide me with the support I need right now. I also feel I'm probably spending too much time on my own and this is hindering my recovery.

Having been through something similar, I would love any advice on what you guys think I should do?

The State Unemployment and Labor office should be able to direct you to some Vocational Rehabilitation services. Most states have them as a way of keeping people off unemployment and welfare.

A Voc Rehab assessment should be valuable.

Thanks Mark, I actually visited my local office last week, they were very helpful but didn't mention anything about vocational rehabilitation, what does that involve? They were more focused on steps I could take myself to get back into work i.e. applying for less demanding work.

Call you local office back and ask them about Voc Rehab. They with try to determine what you can do, what you can't do and what you may be able to be retrained to do then direct you to that training.

I was referred to Voc Rehab by the State Disability Determination Service. They do the Social Security Disability Application process.

Hi Millie,

Sounds like a tough situation. On my end, I was struggling with a new concussion and PCS resurgence after a late January concussion. While I didn't have any financial issues due to the job benefits, I wasn't able to go to work and was deteriorating over the following two months - unable to drive, work more than a few hours a week, cook anything remotely complicated. I stopped seeing friends because I had trouble traveling, having conversations in restaurants, even having conversations one on one. I was keeping medical appointments (taking cabs), but was losing the ability to interact with the world around me without consequences.

After two months of slowly getting worse, and unable to properly manage my own care and recovery, my mom flew out on a one way ticket. I'm 35, I have a graduate degrees in science, had plenty of paid sick time, no wife/kids/pets/mortgages/responsibilities, and while only concentrating on recovery, I wasn't able to do it on my own. She started driving me to my appointments, sitting in on appointments, going to the gym with me in case my doctor-mandated exercise caused me to pass out (never happened, but was a real fear). It's now been almost 6 weeks with her here, I'm back at work a bit more than half time, and doing much better than I was. I don't know where I would be without that support, so that's my recommendation.

Hi Waffles, I'm sorry to hear about your PCS resurgence, I can relate to all the struggles with daily tasks and conversation issues, its rough isn't it? So glad your mom got to come over and that its really helping you get better. With hindsight, I think I was probably a little crazy to try and see it through on my own with little support. I'm not sure my mom really wants to come, she seems reluctant when I bring it up and spend time here, its probably more realistic for me to go back home, so I'm thinking of doing that for a few months, with the hope that I can rehabilitate myself and come back again when I'm better. I went home for around a month last year and felt an improvement and a deterioration when i got home so I definitely think there is something to having that support.

Thanks for your reply Waffles and good luck, thankfully we have a condition that we can recover from, if we just get the right help!