At the time of his accident in 2013, Aaron was a 17 year old with a passion for cars and motorbikes. His friends and family described him as a caring, thoughtful and popular young man. He had a wonderful sense of humour and would always make his friends and family laugh.
Aaron was studying Motor Vehicle Maintenance and he was working as an apprentice at a vehicle repair shop. On the day of the accident he was travelling to his job when he was involved in a road traffic collision. He suffered a severe traumatic brain injury as well as various severe orthopaedic injuries. His family were told that he may not survive and if he did he may never regain consciousness.
Aaron underwent emergency lifesaving surgery and remained in hospital for around 3 months. He was then transferred to a specialist brain injury rehabilitation unit for intensive rehabilitation. He remained at this unit until December 2015 following which he was discharged home where he continued with his rehabilitation journey.
When Aaron was transferred to the specialist rehabilitation centre he was unable to speak. His level of comprehension was difficult to determine. He would communicate by blinking, eye pointing and movement of the left arm. He received extensive speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and assistive technology therapy funded by interim payments from his legal claim. Aaron also had a Case Manager to oversee his therapy, care workers and he required on-going medical care and assessments.
Aaron had very limited movement; he was for some time a spastic paraplegic and could not volitionally move his legs and his right arm. He gradually developed some head control, and he was able to squeeze with his left hand, lean forward and put some weight through his right arm with support at waist and chin.
He had severe, motor based dysphasia and was fed via a PEG albeit he could take modest quantities of oral nutrition and hydration. He spent considerable periods of time in bed and was otherwise confined to a wheelchair. He required two carers for every transfer.
Aaron went on to make a remarkable recovery from his life changing injuries; walking with support, eating solid food and he began communicating verbally.
From the start, it became apparent that Aaron was a very determined person. He surpassed everyone’s expectations in terms of his recovery and he certainly kept his therapy team on their toes; they had to constantly change up his rehabilitation and introduce new goals.
Aaron really threw himself into his rehabilitation and really enjoyed the assistive technology and physiotherapy and hydrotherapy sessions in particular. Aaron soon became more vocal about what he wanted to achieve; this included being able to spend more time with friends and doing normal things like going to the pub for a drink.
As well as a fantastic therapy team Aaron received a great deal of support from his family; they each played a vital role in supporting Aaron during his therapy sessions and with all aspects of day to day life.
Aaron’s legal claim was handled by Hilary Wetherell, partner and Vindika Jasinghe, legal executive at Irwin Mitchell. Hilary and Vindika secured a settlement for Aaron that has enabled him to continue with his rehabilitation as well as purchase a property to be adapted for his on-going needs.
Aaron will continue to need daily support; however he has made a truly remarkable recovery and continues to challenge and push himself. One of the things that really came across throughout the claim was Aaron’s wonderful sense of humour. Everyone enjoyed working with Aaron and it was incredible to see his progress over the years.
Hilary commented “Aaron is one of the most determined and motivated clients that I have ever had the pleasure to represent. From the beginning it was clear that Aaron was not going to let his profound disabilities limit his will to succeed and he astounded us with his progress time and time again. It is therefore no surprise at all to learn that he wanted to participate in Superheroes At Home”.
Steven Balmer, senior associate for Irwin Mitchell Asset Management, continues to advise Aaron in relation to management and investment of his damages. From his initial contact with the family Steven made a real connection with Aaron especially as they share a passion for motorbikes.
As part of their on-going working relationship, he approached Aaron regarding the Superhero Challenge. For the last 3 years this has taken place in the summer months as Superhero Tri; a triathlon event for participants with a wide range of disabilities. In 2020, for reasons that we all understand, the event has moved to home based participation. As expected Aaron was very keen to take part in this.
The basis of the Superheroes At Home challenge is to complete a 20km walk either as a group of three or as an individual participant, using a mode of transport they choose.
Aaron, nickname “Titanium Man”, completed the 20km challenge using his Smart Crutches and Nino and he is now continuing with his walking goals as often as he can – well done Aaron – an amazing achievement!
