I WEAR BLUE FOR MY BROTHER

DYLANS STORY
The 9th of November 2020 was the day that changed Dylan’s life and the life of his family, forever.
Dylan woke up and prepared for his new job as a first-year apprentice as an electrician. However, after eating his breakfast Dylan developed a headache. This was the first symptom in a rapid progression, soon leaving him unconscious.
Luckily for Dylan, the air ambulance and a MICA paramedic were in the area, having just attended a local fatal car accident, emergency services were on the scene within 20 minutes. The care provided by Dylan’s girlfriend Abbey and her family in those 20 minutes, ultimately saved Dylan’s life.
Dylan was airlifted to Melbourne where he underwent intensive brain surgery that lasted 8 hours. Dylan had what doctors refer to as ‘a ticking time bomb’ – an abnormal connection between arteries and veins, with 0.1% of the global population being born with this condition and of those people born with it only 2% will have it affect them in their lifetime!
Following surgery, Dylan’s amazing surgeons had the difficult job of informing his family of Dylan’s likely future. They were told he would likely never walk again and it was unlikely he would be able to communicate, as that part of his brain was catastrophically damaged. They explained it most likely would be unable to repair; however, his family remained hopeful.

Dylan was in an induced coma for nearly two weeks before slipping into a spontaneous coma. During his first two weeks in hospital, Dylan overcame Pneumonia and underwent further surgery to put in place a temporary tracheotomy. Furthermore, Dylan battled an unrelated infection called an MRSA which he still struggles with today.
After a few weeks, Dylan was able to move from the ICU to the neurology wards, though he remained in a coma for a number of weeks. This was the first step of his long and intense rehabilitation process and the start of his road to recovery.
Although the extent of his injuries was still unknown, Dylan began to make progress. His eyes started opening spontaneously and on demand. After five weeks at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Dylan was transferred to a rehabilitation hospital. Their assessment revealed the extent of Dylan’s brain injury. Dylan was unable to communicate effectively, eat through his mouth and couldn’t feel his whole right side, as well as his legs.
For three and half months, the team at the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation helped Dylan undertake hours of physiotherapy, speech pathology and occupational therapy. These therapies assisted in rebuilding the connections within Dylan’s brain. After two months, Dylan could finally walk with assistance, was beginning to use small words such as Mum, food and toilet and no longer needed to be tube fed.
Dylan went from a young independent man to a person relying on others for survival. Although he was incredibly close to his family, he was embarrassed they had to see him like this and became suicidal. At times, he would have uncontrollable outbursts, crying multiple times a day. Dylan was dedicated to his recovery, returning home three months before his expected release date.
Dylan has been given a two-year window in which he can recover and regain the skills he has lost as a result of this occurring. After the two-year period has passed, it is unlikely he will experience further improvement.
Dylan’s life has been flipped on its head and he is challenged every day. Dylan hasn’t given up. Each day he wakes up with a positive attitude and attends outpatient’s physiotherapy, speech pathology and occupational therapy once a week in Ballarat. He also implements the exercises into his daily life. These are incredible achievements for Dylan.
Dylan has now two full-time carers – his Mum, Lisa, and his girlfriend, Abbey. He is never to be alone, not even to shower. Even mundane tasks such as mowing the lawns are no longer possible. Dylan can also no longer drive. Although these things may seem trivial compared to what he has experienced, Dylan has lost his independence and his privacy. He struggles with daily chores, like attending supermarkets where others are unaware of his brain injury. Dylan struggles to communicate with people who are out of his immediate family and he relies on his family to get him from point A to B. Like you and I, some days are better than others; however, for Dylan, a bad day means even making toast is difficult.
Dylan and his family’s outlook on life has drastically changed as a result of what Dylan has been through. Despite some days being dark and challenging, they remain positive. People are quick to judge those around them. People who don’t know Dylan would think he was born with the difficulties that he has; not that these were sustained through a traumatic brain injury just last year.
Oftentimes, we found ourselves saying ‘that would never happen to me’ but please remember that everything can change in a matter of minutes. My message is to love hard and be grateful for what you have, because you never know what the next minute of your life might hold.