Jason is a young man with an acquired brain injury. A young man with goals and plans for the future, and now a fiance. Someone who has helped him through some pretty tough times.

Let’s rewind to 2019, when Jason was hit by a car and sustained a traumatic brain injury. Jason has no real recollection of this time. His life is divided into before the accident and after. After the accident, there were some pretty dark times. Jason described it as if he were “asleep in a dream”, and it wasn’t until he started dating his now-fiance he realised he “wasn’t dreaming any more”. He credits a great deal of his progress to having that special person in his life – someone to motivate him, a reason to better himself.

Jason currently lives with his mum and sister. He has a little 2 year old Shih Tzu called Lucifer, who he spends his days with. When first out of hospital, Jason required a walking frame and wheelchair. He needed a lot of help throughout the day, and wasn’t able to do much due to COVID restrictions and his injuries preventing him from working. But Jason has worked very hard on his therapy goals over the last 4 years and has achieved a great deal.

Jason enjoys getting out in nature and wanted to be able to start using the walking trail near his house. He is now able to walk over 6 kms without walking aids or resting. More recently, Jason has been working on the goal of riding a trike, which he fondly calls his “new car”. His Physiotherapist, Daisy, has been taking him out on the rail trails. He relishes in the feeling of freedom when riding a bike, something he used to enjoy before the accident. Jason also has longer term plans of getting his driver’s licence, and returning to his job at Bunnings which he absolutely loved prior to the accident. In the meantime, he has started a volunteer role and gets involved in 10 pin bowling which is actually how he met his fiance. 

Jason gets a kick out of achieving his goals, naturally it gives him a massive sense of accomplishment. The most recent milestone for him has been losing 4kgs just in the last month, which was something that meant a lot to him after having gained weight following the tragic passing of his step dad in 2022.

Working towards all his goals, alongside planning a wedding, it seems Jason is a very busy person! He acknowledges that his support worker Hannah, stepsister Jess, and Mum Di, have been such great supports in his journey. And of course, meeting and later getting engaged to his fiance, Emily, has motivated him immensely and inspired his continuous improvement. 

Jason hopes that by talking about his experience, he can help others achieve similar things to what he has achieved. Sharing our stories really is a great way to inspire, motivate and encourage others to work through their challenges.

To find out more about acquired brain injury, visit Brain Injury Australia.