Ben*, a 48-year-old self-employed carpenter, ceased work due to an injury impacting his right elbow as well as triceps tear due to a fall. While recovering, he underwent four surgeries and unfortunately sustained further injuries to his hip.
Ben was able to return to light carpentry and administrative duties, however, he continued to experience ongoing pain, fatigue and restricted range of motion, which heavily impacted his mental health. Ben reached out to AIA for support and was referred to Mind Coach, a phone-based program delivered one-on-one from the comfort of your client’s home to help work through any problems or difficult situations in their life.
Following hip surgery, Ben's doctor advised he would never be able to fully return to work as a carpenter as he would be unable to do the more physical duties. So, Ben's rehabilitation program progressed to include:
- Connection with treatment services including mental health care plan and psychologist, and online mental health resources
- Adjustment to injury counselling to support him in moving forward from the grief of being unable to return to carpentry work
- Occupational Therapy support with pacing education, review of and advice regarding home tasks following surgery
- Occupational Therapy support with pacing, prioritising and planning to support daily routine including home and work responsibilities and to provide him with strategies to manage his energy more efficiently and manage work/life balance
- Functional upgrading program to provide gym-based exercises to support him to safely increase his physical capacity
- Vocational counselling and return to work support to help Ben identify alternative vocations. Through this process he identified that he would like to use his exercise physiology qualifications to supplement his light carpentry work