Amy Crosby has created Evolve Case Management to deliver specialist support to people with brain and spinal injuries, building on her career in nursing and case management, as well as her personal experience of life-changing injury.
After her father sustained a TBI in 2015 after falling down some stairs, resulting in a frontal lobe craniotomy and a five-month stay in hospital, Amy saw first-hand how vital and badly-needed support is post-discharge, for individuals and their families alike.
“I realised then how little I knew about brain injury. As a nurse, you’re used to being able to fix things, but brain injury is very different. My dad couldn’t fit into the world he used to live in, which he thought he could go back to, and there was no support or education for us as a family,” she recalls.
“Now, having been through that myself, I can identify with other families and help them with some of the barriers they will face – I can forewarn them of some of the challenges that will lie ahead, educate them and empower them. Fear is such a powerful emotion, but once you understand things better, you aren’t as scared. It’s about adjustment and acceptance.
“I’ve been through the wringer too, so understand what they’re going through, but by working in case management and essentially being a ‘project manager’, I can help to get the right support they need.”
Having established Evolve earlier this year, following a stint back on the NHS frontline to support COVID-19 efforts, Amy is now able to deliver that support across the North East and North Yorkshire.
After her father was discharged home from hospital and realising the scarcity of NHS community provision, she saw the need to “upskill” and find out what more she could do to make his life better.
Amy appointed a private occupational therapist and saw the difference that could make, and also discovered the support from her local branch of Headway, in Darlington.
“I’d heard the term ‘case manager’ banded about and one of the volunteers at the Headway group was a case manager, and I thought that sounded like a bit of me, I’m very methodical and like solving problems,” says Amy, who is now chair of Headway Darlington & District.
“Being brought up in a very working-class family in one of the most deprived areas in England, running my own case management company was never something I aspired to doing. However, I have had the pleasure of meeting many clinicians and therapists within my role as case manager who have done just that and seen the autonomy and creativity working for their own companies offered them. The pandemic gave me the kick up the butt to do it, and I thought ‘What are you waiting for?’
“With Evolve, our ethos is all about client-centred care and making a really strong stand for people, we offer support that is unique to their needs and wishes. Having that personal experience, I realise what a joy it would have been to have a case manager in our situation and it’s a privilege to be able to help others. As a new business, we’re constantly evolving and learning in ways of doing that.”
As as well as through her work in case management, Amy is also committed to making a difference to people’s lives through her role with Headway Darlington & District.
“When I first started going there were probably 40 people there who were all so different in their presentation, they all had a brain injury but had such different needs and support requirements,” says Amy.
“We are pushing for change and to create a much more established better pathway for these people and their families after their discharge from the acute setting. We want to change the status quo instead of putting a plaster over it. The pandemic will delay a lot of progress for a lot of people and will have set them back, so it’s more important than ever to make change.
“Sometimes I look back on the journey I have been on over the last six years and the times I thought ‘How do I move on from this’ but now it feels like it all had a purpose, I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.
“I’ve seen through my personal and professional experience how early support and intervention following injury can transform individuals predicted outcomes, enabling them to have a much-improved quality of life. It’s also often much more cost-effective long term and is something that I am passionate and committed to promoting for all brain injury survivors and families.”
