Remembrance Day - support for veterans

Posted by Devon Partnership Trust in Mental health, News on 11th November, 2024

Today (11 November) is Remembrance Day, an annual day of commemoration and celebration to honour members of the Armed Forces who lost their lives in the line of duty.

To mark the day, we spoke to Jez, a former captain who was medically discharged from the Royal Marines and later discovered he had a brain injury. He wanted to share how Becky Last, Assistant Practitioner, from our Veterans Service supported him before, during and after his life-changing diagnosis.

“I was involved in a traumatic incident whilst in the Royal Marines and was medically discharged with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and physical disabilities as a result of my injuries. I was well looked after when I was in the military, but struggled when I left. I came out broken – physically and mentally.

“Alongside the PTSD I had unexplained psychological symptoms, as well as a lot of headaches and was bedridden at times. I ended up accidently overdosing at one point as I couldn’t remember what medication I had taken. My wife at the time was really concerned and tried to get help. We ran a business together, had two kids and there was a lot of pressure on her. The assessments I had at the time just reconfirmed my PTSD diagnosis and didn’t flag anything else. Things just got worse and everything fell apart. My marriage ended, I came back to the UK and moved in with my mum.

“After a chat with a friend, he recommended the Veterans Service as he had a positive experience with them and said they supported him when no one else took him seriously. So I got in touch with Becky for an initial chat and explained my situation. I got on with her right away. She’s very straight talking and understands the military culture which is hugely important. We made a pact from the start that we would be honest with each other – in the past people had overpromised, and she reassured me she wouldn’t, and I wouldn’t say I’m fine when I’m not. I was able to fully trust her.

“Immediately she got to work and assembled a team of professionals who had specialist skills to further assess my needs help find out what was going on. She referred me to audiology for a more thorough hearing test and found I had significant hearing damage in both ears and I was given a hearing aid. We then attended further appointments with neurology and neuropsychology, pain management and physiotherapy. After extensive testing with neuropsychology, I was diagnosed with a brain injury and then suddenly everything clicked. We had three reports from the different specialists confirming the diagnosis which I found reassuring. There was now a reason for the things I was experiencing like gaps in memory, headaches and catastrophising. I felt I was going mad at times, but now everything started to make sense.

“Every time we hit a stumbling block, Becky helped me through it. It was great to have her alongside me as I wouldn’t have the capacity to do what we did on my own. She reminded me about appointments and even attended them with me, and if she couldn’t she would meet me for a coffee afterwards to discuss what happened.

“Becky also helped worked closely with the Royal Marines Association to help with tangible changes too like changes in my pension, which has made a huge difference.

“There’s no ‘cure’ to my situation but things are manageable now. I know exactly what I’m dealing with and have accepted it. I’m in such a better place now. I now have clarity and reasons for my issues. My life used to feel chaotic and now it’s much more comfortable. I’ve also been able to put myself out there socially, which I had avoided for so long.

“I would 100% encourage people to get in touch with the Veterans Service. It’s amazing it exists. Becky is incredibly devoted and I was blown away by everything she did for me. She helped me get to the bottom of something that I haven’t for 20 years and she’s helped me move forward. It’s been a hugely positive experience that has changed my life. I now feel positive about the future. I feel very blessed that I had this support.”

Becky said: “It was a huge privilege to work with Jez and I found the work we did together incredibly valuable. Traditionally, we work as an assessment service for veterans at the start of their recovery, but with Jez we worked together for a long time and I supported him with numerous and extensive assessments. The process involved walking alongside him rather than holding his hand. It was about implementing a routine so he would be able to manage things going forward, which he now can.

“I made sure he was getting the right tests and support from various medical professionals. I didn’t want to let him down – if I said I was going to do something, I was going to deliver. He’d been through so much and he really deserved to get answers. If he wasn’t supported along the way he wouldn’t have got the right help. It was life-changing for him when he got confirmation he had a brain injury. It was of course hard to hear and bought up a lot of ‘what ifs?’, but together we reflected on things, and I helped him decompress and process the situation.

“It’s so amazing to see that he’s now in a much better place in his life. When I first met him, he had no hope and felt like he had no future, so to get him to where he is now is just incredible. It was a privilege to help him along his journey.”

Our Veterans Service supports veterans across Devon (excluding Plymouth) who are concerned about their mental health. They offer assessments for military-related trauma, consultation advice, signposting and referral to the most appropriate service to meet the veteran’s needs. Find out more about the team and the support they offer in their ‘Spotlight On’ article.

Contact the Veterans Service on 01392 208900 or email Dpn-tr.veterans@nhs.net