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Reflections of Chair-Man Eason

Reflections of Chair-Man Eason

I know, I know, I've heard it all before, it doesn't help even though it’s true.

Richard Eason sustained a severe brain injury in a motorcycle accident in 1983. He experienced multiple physical injuries and damage to his brainstem, but after a long spell in intensive care followed by intensive rehabilitation, he was able to live a reasonably independent life despite the ongoing effects of his injury.

Like many brain injury survivors, Richard felt that although people tried to relate to his situation, they often couldn’t truly understand. So he set to work writing a collection of poems about life after brain injury to help others in a similar situation to realise that they’re not alone, and to try to give ‘able-bodied’ people a small insight into the world of disability.

Richard sadly passed away in 2014, so to honour his memory his son Sam recently set to work re-printing and sharing his father’s book of poems, which you can download below. Richard’s personality and wit shines throughout, and here we share ‘You Don’t Say’, a poem which recounts a situation that is all-too-familiar for many people with brain injury!

You Don't Say

By Richard Eason

I know, I know, I've heard it all before,
it doesn't help even though it’s true.

It's well meant but it’s usually said
by a healthy able-bodied type,
who’s never been sick or had a bad day
in the whole of their jammy life.

If you were worse off than all others,
there's one thing you wouldn't have to endure,
that's some silly bugger, patting your head
saying 'There's someone worse off than you.'

Illustration by Denis Blandford

Illustration by Denis Blandford

You can download Reflections of Chair-Man Eason in the Related Resources section, below.

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