Jonathan's story - never judge a book by its cover

Due to brain injury, Jonathan McCall was at a loss for words when he visited a Devonport pharmacy recently.  

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What began as a triggering experience soon led to understanding – all thanks to the National Assistance Card.

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“With my specific brain injury, I can have good days and bad days,” he said.

“On this specific day, I was having trouble focusing on what I had to do.

“I felt extremely tired, and to anyone who didn’t know me, I would have seemed to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”

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For many people living with brain injury, assumptions are sometimes made by members of the public.

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“I was worried and angry that I might not get the medications I needed,” Jonathan said.

“I took a deep breath and presented my National Assistance Card, and with a slow and slurred remark I said, ‘I think this may help.’”

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It did. Immediately the mood changed, and the pharmacist then apologised to Jonathan.

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“He said in future when I needed to come in for scripts, my file would show the information from my card to help future attendants understand,” he said.

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Jonathan said the National Assistance Card “changed the entire feeling of the interaction.”

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“It went from feeling like ‘We don’t want to serve you these medications while you’re intoxicated’ to ‘We are sorry this has happened to you; we now understand why your speech is slurred and why you can’t remember the names of all your medications. They asked me what they could do to assist me.”

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Jonathan said the best thing members of the public could do for people with brain injury was to be patient.

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“Help me help myself,” he said.

“I’ve had to present the National Assistance Card when I have been trying to do things for myself, and I almost feel defeated when I have to get it out, but if someone helps me to do things for myself, I don’t feel so bad.”

“It’s nice to have the card there if it’s needed, as a back-up.”

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Jonathan was involved in a motorcycle accident near Sheffield on December 2, 2018. He sustained a shearing brain injury due to alack of blood flow to the rear of his frontal cortex. Jonathan’s memory, speech, and concentration have been impacted.

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