Michael will live the rest of his life with an acquired brain injury (ABI) as a result of pushing his body to the point that it couldn’t go on.
A career of 20 years in heavy industry saw Michael rewarded with a leadership role, he not only had to ensure production, but he was responsible for other people. A normal 10 to 12 hour workday often dragged out to 14 and 16 hours, days off were spent answering phone calls from the site or ‘Catching up’ on work that just “Had” to be done.
Work/Life balance became Work/Work balance with a bit of life thrown in when it didn’t interfere with the job.
Something had to give, and it was Michael’s body. He walked out his front door not feeling quite right but knowing he had to get to work and he collapsed on his driveway and was found by his neighbor unconscious and not breathing. His head had fallen onto his chest and blocked the supply of oxygen to his brain.
Michael is now affected by; short term memory loss, impaired cognitive function, limited attention span, hypersensitivity to noise and bright light among other health and well-being impacts. Michael was diagnosed with an ABI, Anxiety, Depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Michael and his family have experienced a difficult journey, he hopes to share his experiences, thoughts and learnings with others globally (including Employees, Leaders, Employers, Business Owners, Families) who may be working in a highly stressful workplace.
Michael’s motivation in sharing his personal story and journey is to provide HOPE to people who have had a similar experience or potentially prevent a similar event from happening to others.
Invite Michael to your workplace and you will reflect on some of the things that you do that you had not thought could lead to a build up of stress or fatigue.
Michael’s story will not stop your people from working hard, it will make them aware that there needs to be a balance in everything that we do.
Michael can provide a considerable contribution to your employees and leadership teams success, mental health and wellbeing by…
Read more about Michael’s presentation Head Above Water HERE
We found Michael’s lived experience inspiring and eye opening. It makes you think twice that not all injuries can be seen but just because it isn’t seen, doesn’t mean it’s not life altering.
Good presentation and Michael was able to bring out difficult questions from the audience. He was also able to provide suitable answers accordingly.
Michael’s story is so engaging and hits home. You can visually see the atmosphere in the room shift as Michael’s presentation goes on. It was very powerful to see some of the sessions I attended with Michael that had ‘mental health shares’ at the end and people felt empowered from Michael sharing his story. I went home the night after first hearing Michael’s story and downloaded it to my husband as there was so many things I wanted to share with him.
Michael’s message was relevant and powerful given the increasing pressures on working Australians, a timely reminder to appreciate life outside of work.
