Working after stroke an interview with Nikki Mennel

Returning to work is an important goal for most people who were working before their stroke. What this looks like, the pathway and eventual destination, is different for everyone. Good planning and support is important to ensure a successful return to work.

A successful return to work begins with understanding how the effects of your stroke will impact you at work. This includes considering any physical limitations, as well as thinking, sensory and communication and personality changes.

If returning to work is one of your goals, talk with your doctor and rehabilitation team. Obtaining medical clearance from a doctor is recommended to ensure you are able to perform the requirements of your role safely. Rehabilitation is your opportunity to review your strengths and compare this to what is needed for your work. You can focus on relearning or practicing the key skills needed for your work. You can also learn compensatory strategies to help with things such as memory or concentration.

What if I need help?

There are different sources of assistance, depending on your situation:

• Centrelink is the key government service that can advise on available assistance.
• Your employer’s human resources and occupational health and safety representatives may also help.
• If you are a union member, a representative may be able to assist you to negotiate your needs.
• If you have income protection or life insurance, even as part of your superannuation, assistance may be available under your policy.
• There are specialist private services, and insurers may cover the costs of these services. Some employers also choose to assist with these costs. StrokeLine 1800 STROKE (1800 787 653) can provide information about private services.
• You can also ask your GP about referral to appropriate allied health services, which may include occupational therapy and neuropsychology.

What if I experience discrimination?

Discrimination occurs in the workplace when an employer takes adverse action against an employee or prospective employee because of a protected attribute, such as physical or mental disability. If you believe you have been discriminated against, contact the Fair Work Ombudsman for advice. You can also seek representation from your union or lawyer.

Information via Working after stroke fact sheet

Young survivor Nikki Mennel joined the Stroke Foundation team in early 2015 and has described to us the challenges that she faced, and ways that she has overcome them.

Often when getting back to work people battle with ongoing and daily fatigue. Nikki says her fatigue was an issue for about 6 months after her stroke, and she was able to build a thriving home business over the next four years. Nikki says her fatigue was rare, “after I started work at the Stroke Foundation I began to experience fatigue more often. I was trying to keep up with learning new things, tiredness and overload. I didn’t see that coming and it rattle me. It felt like I’d just had the stroke, not like I was 3 years past it”.

“Learning new systems using Mac at home vs. Microsoft at work and meeting new people, getting to and from work, even organising my lunch, it all added up” Nikki says.

Nikki says she was surprised by some of the challenges “My right hand doesn’t work if it’s cold, and the office can be quite chilly, I wear cut off gloves to keep my hand warm and flexible. I always have extra clothing in my desk to manage this”.

“I could only manage about 6 hours per day and sleep the rest of the day. I would fall asleep on the tram on the way home, which made me feel quite vulnerable. It took about 3 months to build up to 8 hours per day, when I did it felt great and was definitely worth it.

Now it’s not a problem at all to work a full day or even a little over time. It was certainly worth sticking at it to build up stamina, which helped other areas of my life too”.

Nikki’s advice to her team was “Keep it simple – I don’t need the back ground of every task, just need the task. I found that people often intersperse their thoughts with the task, making it very confusing. I could feel myself glazing over. I would try to delete half of what is being said to get back to the task they are asking me to do. It was quite tiring. I did find that my ability to separate tasks from general conversation improved over time. I do tell people up front that I need only task focused instructions, but I think it’s just a natural way of communicating”.

“I am really lucky to be working at the Stroke Foundation, because the team gets it. I don’t have to explain too much. I don’t know what I would have done getting back to work without that understanding” Nikki says.

Nikki has put together some tips that she found helped get her get through her working day:

Tips for managing your working day

• Bring things to work to make life easier – gloves, pens, wheat bag
• Make your desk a nice place to be and organise it to avoid getting overwhelmed. I have a spot on my desk with photos and a plant. When stressed I turn away from the business side of my desk and focus on the Zen side, and breathe deeply.
• Flexible work hours and possibly part time
• Give yourself time to learn new things, be kind to yourself
• Set tasks for yourself and use calendar for reminders
• Ask for help when you need it
• Be proactive if you need more skills, don’t give up
• Build relationships and show interest in people you work with
• Make sure you take breaks

What I got out of getting back to work

• Build self-esteem, confidence and stamina
• Knowing that I do a good job and managing when challenges arise
• Being part of a team who work hard and have fun too, feeling included
• Have a purpose and feeling like I’m making a difference, doing something worthwhile
• Having some regularly money coming in is great and feeling like I’m contributing at home financially
• Getting out of the house – no more cabin fever
• Learnt to be more flexible and flow with the changing work load
• Remain calm, breath and carry on – it will all get done
• Increased capacity to take on information has certainly improved

Nikki says that the emotional journey of getting back to work was huge. “Learning to manage my emotions when I don’t feel competent or am overwhelmed - what a massive journey. I have a desire to do a really good job, but when things don’t go to plan, I feel like I’ve let people down. I think in reality this is an imagined fear rather than a real one. I’ve had to overcome this feeling, as it doesn’t serve me or help the situation”.

For more resources and conversations about getting back to work after stroke.