Aiden

Age at interview: 25

Brief Outline:

Five years ago, Aiden was involved in a collision while riding his motorbike. As well as breaking some bones, he damaged nerves in his shoulder. As a result, his left arm is now almost completely paralysed.

Background:

Aiden is single and currently unemployed. Ethnic background' European.

More about me...

Aiden was riding his motorbike too fast round a bend. Instead of driving on the wrong side of the road, he decided to mount the kerb. He collided with what he described as street furniture because he is not sure what he hit. He broke bones in his neck, wrist and knee, and damaged the nerves in his shoulder. This resulted in the almost complete paralysis of his left arm. 

 

He had reconstructive surgery on his wrist and knee, and a nerve graft, which involved replacing the damaged nerves in his shoulder with nerves removed from his leg. However, the nerve graft was not successful. In another operation, muscles were removed from his leg and replaced the damaged muscles in his shoulder. Aiden said this operation was more successful. He is attending physiotherapy, which he thinks is useful, but he forgets to do his exercises regularly. This has probably slowed down his recovery. 

 

Since his injury, Aiden lost his job. He thinks there should be careers advice specifically for people who have had life-changing injuries. He is currently receiving Disability Living Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance, but is worried about how the changes to the benefits system in 2013 are going to affect him. Because he can no longer ride his motorbike or play the computer games he enjoyed, he has had to change his hobbies. But he can still do most of the things he needs to – they are just harder than before. 

 

Aiden would advise other survivors of life-changing injuries to concentrate on the things that they can do and which make life worth living, and, although it is sad, they should try to accept the things they can no longer do. 

 

Aiden describes the injury in which his arm was left paralysed.

Tell me about your injury.

 

In 2007 when I was 20 I was riding my motorcycle too fast around a bend, decided it would be a good idea to go up on the kerb so as not to be on the wrong side of the road on a blind corner, and hit some bit of street furniture – I'm not sure what it was, not a road sign I don't think because it was not lit up – and ended up at 90 degrees! I think it was made of plastic but could be wrong. I broke my left wrist, shattered my left kneecap into many pieces, broke a bone in my neck (I forget which!) and, most importantly, damaged the nerves in my shoulder meaning an almost total paralysis of my left arm, the only movement I was left with was a small amount in the wrist (about a quarter of what it should be) and the ability to move my fingers, but only about half of the strength and dexterity that I had before.

 

The criteria for Aiden's benefits have changed and he is worried about what he will get in the future.

Since I got laid off from my job I get ESA and DLA. I don't like having to jump through hoops to get them; I have already successfully appealed a decision to stop my ESA and I am currently contesting a second decision to stop my ESA, however I'm not confident of winning another appeal as the government has changed the ESA criteria since my previous appeal meaning I no longer get awarded the "points" I was entitled to previously. I'm disillusioned with the benefits system because my condition has not changed; the government has just moved the goalposts in order to achieve their political aims. I'm scared that I will no longer be entitled to DLA next year after they change the system and reassess everybody, which will leave me on the same money as a fully able bodied person out of work (as that's what I will count as if I lose my ESA and DLA). I have never received any careers advice specific tailored to disabled people, let alone people with an injury like mine. 

Aiden explains how his life has been changed both for better and worse.

It has changed my life both for better and worse, my quality of life has decreased because I am in pain every day and I have much less prospects for the future, so there is more uncertainty. It hasn't really changed the way I see my body even though I look different, I do sometimes forget that I have the injury. At the same time my life has improved because the injury has forced me to examine myself and my life and I am now doing things for the greater good - I am now involved in environmental activism which I wasn't before which is what I feel my purpose in life is. I feel less self-centred than I was before and can the world clearer, so I feel like I am "richer" intellectually even though I am "poorer" physically.