Casework Successes

I cannot even recall the accident. They tell me that I was hit from behind by a delivery truck while I was crossing the street at a cross-walk while on my way to work. I have only the faintest recollection of Hamilton General Hospital, where I spent the next week. My skull was fractured; I had a concussion and whiplash, two nasty black eyes and various cuts and bruises.

By the time I was discharged, my ability to remember anything was still pretty iffy. I could hardly walk at all, I was in a complete daze and barely functional.

However, within days of getting home, Mary Jusdanis visited for the first time. We had no idea exactly what our insurance company would be doing in our circumstances, but Mary explained everything and what her role was.

As the months went by, with all of the therapy and rehabilitation, Mary was a rock. She took care of everything from helping me replace damaged clothing, to arranging for ergonomic furniture for my work, to meeting with my employers and to running interference with my various doctors as the need arose. She took complete charge of the entire recovery. Even in my darkest days, and there were a few, she was always there to provide comfort and reassurance.

One of the most notable occurrences was the point at which I had returned to work for the first time, and I could not cope under the stress, yet my doctors were telling me that I was ok to work. Mary then arranged for more in-depth testing with one of the top neuro psychologists in Ontario. He conducted much more thorough testing than had been done previously. He was able to determine the cause of my inability to cope and the matter was resolved favorably. I simply have no idea how we would have managed without Mary’s guidance throughout this ordeal.

Mary’s dedication and expertise in this field and her kind and caring support are amazing, and I wish her every possible success in her career and life.

B. Joyce Step

I had a car accident and resulting brain injury. I remained at the Hamilton General Hospital for nine days. Ms. Jusdanis has been managing my recovery activities since I was discharged. I started back to work as an engineer gradually three months post accident and I was able to work fulltime seven months post accident.

At the time of discharge, I was so weak I couldn’t lift a 20 lb bag. I had severe headaches, difficulties in listening, reading, speaking, in holding a conversation and memory problems. The Speech Therapist, Physiotherapist and Occupational Therapist that Ms. Jusdanis arranged for me all offered much expertise and helped greatly in my recovery. They helped me get stronger, provided me with methods for recovery and very useful strategies for daily life and work.

As I was told, the first two years post accident is very critical to recovery. Ms. Jusdanis did a great job. She has rich experience and draws from a wide network of injury recovery practitioners.

Phan L.

It has been our extremely good fortune to have Mary Jusdanis act as the Rehabilitation Coordinator for our very complex case.

Within days of our motor vehicle accident Mary Jusdanis met with us at our hospital bedside to begin planning and co-ordinating our rehabilitation. While we were in hospital, Ms Jusdanis met with our treating physicians to develop an understanding of our injuries and rehab requirements and began to organize a rehab team for our return home. By the time we returned home from the hospital, Ms. Jusdanis had arranged for an OT assessment of our home and all necessary structural modifications and apparatus were in place; as was 24 hour home support and in-home nursing.

Ms Jusdanis initiated an array of immediately necessary therapies such as occupational therapy, speech language therapy, physiotherapy, psychological counseling and cognitive remediation therapy. Initially, we were unable to leave our home, so Ms. Jusdanis arranged to have our treating professionals come to our home for therapy.

Throughout the course of our treatment and therapy, Ms Jusdanis has met with us at least on a monthly basis and was in regular communication with our physicians, surgeons and therapists in order to address any of the numerous new issues that would arise. In addition to our regular meetings, Ms Jusdanis was always instantly available for emergency situations and was quick to act to help resolve our difficulties. Her responsiveness and effectiveness have always been above and beyond expectations.

Ms. Jusdanis’ significant skills and experience allowed her to assemble the highest caliber rehabilitation team possible for our care. Her specific expertise in acquired brain injuries was critical in our rehabilitation and allowed her to detect problems and pursue treatment that otherwise may have been overlooked. Time and again, Ms. Jusdanis’ expertise and comprehensive understanding of our case led her to initiate assessments that resulted in new findings and allowed us to receive necessary treatment.

Ms. Jusdanis has skillfully managed our complex, multi-faceted rehabilitation with expertise, professionalism and compassion. She has played a critical role in every aspect of our long journey to recovery. Without her thorough work and dedication to our recovery, we would not have succeeded to the degree that we have. We are blessed and thankful to have had Ms. Jusdanis be a part of our lives and hope that she will continue her special work in the lives of others.

Mr. and Mrs. L.

This is a letter of recommendation – indeed a letter of deep appreciation for the work of Mary Jusdanis.

Our daughter Alex was involved in a serious car accident in which she sustained a severe brain injury along with multiple fractures. She was in a coma for almost three weeks and her future looked very dim.

Over the many long and difficult months which followed, Mary was like a guardian angel to us. She guided us through the confusing array of people and organizations with which we had to interact. She developed and implemented a plan for Alex’ recovery, she accessed resources, she set-up and chaired meetings and above all she gave us hope. She was responsible, diligent, attentive to detail and caring.

Alex’ brain injury was very serious. Shortly after the accident we were told by the hospital that Alex would probably be in diapers for the rest of her life and that the best that could be hoped for her mental recovery would be that she would be able to answer the phone and take a simple message.

Alex has infinitely surpassed these grim prognoses. She has a university degree, lives a normal life and is looking forward to a career.

The main point of my letter is this- we believe that Mary was the biggest single human factor in Alex’ recovery. She is a consummate professional and I would give her my highest possible recommendation.

Jim Ruddle

Mary Jusdanis became my case manager. She has helped me in so many ways including getting medical appointments lined up, to finding me an awesome physiotherapist and other specialists in the Hamilton area.

I was living out in the country before without much support, if any at all. I now live in a rehab facility and am getting daily support which is allowing me to move forward in leaps and bounds. I am extremely excited and honored to have the opportunity to work with such a forward thinking and thoughtful person such as Mary.

In short, I truly wouldn’t know where I would be, or how far I would have come if it weren’t for her knowledge and connections.