Where there’s a Will…
The Mike O’Gorman Story
Written by Rewi Chaplow
‘Life was never meant to be easy’ is an adage that Mike O’Gorman can attest to.
At 29 years of age, Mike O’Gorman has a story to tell. His story of recovery is both an inspiration to all those involved in his care and rehabilitation, and a reminder that rehabilitation can be attained through sheer love, support, and will power.
Mike has always been a bit of a thrill-seeker who spent the majority of his spare time participating in activities like surfing, flying his RC helicopters, wakeboarding, snowboarding, motocross riding and hanging out with friends. Mike worked in IT as a Server Engineer and was always a strong-willed, friendly and outgoing sort of guy who enjoyed his independence. According to Mike and all those who knew him, he always took calculated risks and took pride in doing really well at whatever new thing he decided to try.
In April of 2010, Mike crashed his motocross bike and sustained a severe head injury to the extent that doctors had warned friends and family that Mike may not survive, or that if he did, Mike may be significantly impaired for the rest of his life. After spending two weeks in a coma in the Intensive Care Unit of Waikato Hospital, Mike was transferred to the High Dependency Unit, then the Neuro Ward. Even while Mike was in a coma, his family and fiancé (now wife), Lisa, were constantly by his bedside and were always talking to Mike and reassuring him that they were there for him and he was going to recover. Mike’s family and Lisa did their best to ensure no negative comments were made in Mike’s presence. In his mother’s words, “Just because he (Mike) was unable to respond, didn’t mean he couldn’t hear.” They were determined that regardless of the odds, they would do their best to support Mike and ensure he had every opportunity to recover as best he could. Mike then started to slowly emerge from his coma. The emergence from his coma, only spurred on the efforts of Lisa and Mike’s family to encourage a speedy recovery. At Mike’s bedside, they brought him physiotherapy aids to work his fingers, soft toys to encourage hand movement, and pen and paper to encourage writing and memory restoration.
After a month in Waikato Hospital, Mike was transferred to Cavit ABI where he began to relearn how to walk, talk, eat and look after himself. Mike also received other health professional input such as Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech and Language Therapy. Six months after his accident, Mike was ready to return home to live with his fiancé Lisa. In Lisa’s words, “In some ways, this is where the real challenge started” – Mike was going from an environment where he was constantly surrounded by professionals, to home, where he would have to learn to cope with the results of his injury while surrounded by memories of his pre-injury life.
While Mike’s personality was still the same, the nature of his injury meant he had trouble understanding what he could and couldn’t do, and as a strong-willed independent young man this had the potential to put Mike at risk. Mike was weak on his left side and only has partial vision in the left side of both eyes due to injury to the right side of his brain. Mike needed someone around him at all times and this was where Total Care Health Services became involved in Mike’s care. While Lisa was at work during the day, Mike had a Support Worker with him to help him out if he needed it and to make sure he was safe and not making risky decisions. It was important to find the right person – Mike was capable of doing household chores like cooking, cleaning, and mowing the lawns, so didn’t need help actually doing the tasks, but did need help in making sure he was safe. Mike also followed a timetable on what chores and what rehabilitation activities needed to be done (as prescribed by Mike’s physiotherapist, Occupational Therapist and Speech Language Therapist). Mike’s Support Workers observed his rehabilitation sessions during the week so they knew what to prompt him for while they were with him during the day. It took a little bit of trial and error to find the right Support Workers for Mike, who he could relate to and who would encourage and support him without doing too much for him, but once the right people were in place it worked well. Mike enjoyed a truly multi-disciplinary package of care that supported his individual needs which was fluid and flexible. This was supported well by ACC.
Gradually, Mike’s independence increased, and he was able to be left alone for short times at the start and end of each day. Mike began to return to work, starting with a few hours a week. Mike’s OT helped him to learn how to use public transport to get to and from the gym and work, and worked with him to learn to compensate for his partial loss of vision to ensure he was safe doing things like crossing the road.
Nearly 18 months on from the accident, Mike is doing incredibly well. He’s been back at home with Lisa for eleven months now. He walks with barely a limp – not bad for someone who the doctors said might be paralyzed on the left side. He talks clearly and can hold a normal conversation – not bad for someone who the doctors said may have had the language centre of his brain damaged. He is back at work for three half-days a week – not bad for someone who, in November of 2010, the doctors said they didn’t see returning to work in the foreseeable future. And still Mike continues to improve.
All of the hard work and persistence paid off. On the 15th of May 2011 Lisa and Mike got married – originally, the wedding had been planned for October 2010 but had to be postponed as Mike needed time to recover further from his injury. As Lisa joyously states, “Mike is an amazing person. Without his strength and determination he wouldn’t have made it this far. I am so proud to be his wife.” By all accounts it was a wonderful day and even more special than most in that Mike’s accident meant it nearly didn’t happen. Said Mike’s mother, Sheryl, “Lisa and Mike’s love for each other has provided Mike a very strong motivation to get well”.
At the end of July 2011, Mike had improved so much that he was assessed by his OT and received the great news that he was now able to be fully independent and no longer needed a Support Worker.
As for Mike, he’s as strong-willed as ever and he and Lisa are rebuilding their lives as a newly married couple. They are Mr and Mrs O’Gorman and are surrounded by loving family and friends that supported and prayed for Mike on his journey of recovery. In Sheryl’s words, “He’s done us all proud!”
“It’s been a very hard journey that I’m far from finishing. But I’m recovering as much as possible with my strong will and determination and with the help & support from my lovely wife, family and friends. I’m also appreciative of the support agencies that have helped me with my rehabilitation”, states Mike.
As testified by Mike…where there’s a will, there’s a way!
