5.30am – Snooze alarm.

5.45am – Wonder if I might be able to snooze my alarm for a second time. Close my eyes…

5.46am – Get fed-up of the incessant beeping, and decide I had better get up after all.

6.20am – Leave the house with a nutty springer spaniel in tow.

6.21am – Realise I forgot the poo bags!

6.22am – ACTUALLY leave the house with a nutty springer spaniel in tow to go and enjoy a leisurely stroll around our local park just a couple of minutes away. Lots of ball-throwing and whistle-training ensues.

6.55am – Return home and dry-down a nutty springer spaniel who found a muddy puddle to cool down in on the last 5 minutes of our walk.

7.10am – Arrive at the yard to see to the ponies and complete my chores; muck out, fill waters, feed, hang haynets and turnout.

9.00am (ish) – Finally get to work! Rush upstairs at Headway Nottingham and into my office.

9.10am – The phone rings, it’s adult social care calling regarding a recently referred client. They would like to know more information about their circumstances and ask whether it might be appropriate to contact the client directly to arrange an appointment to visit; I tell them in this instance it would be better to send a letter, as the client can become confused on the telephone.

9.30am – I contact the client above to inform them to keep a look-out for a letter from adult social care offering them an appointment. They thank me for this call and I prompt them to contact Headway Nottingham as soon as they receive their letter as I hope to attend the appointment too.

10.00am – I catch up with notes on our database and any emails that I might have received.

10.45am – I make a start on a clients Personal Independence Payment form. We sat together last week and as she struggles with reading and processing information; I read the questions out aloud to her and I noted her responses.

12noon – The phone rings, it is the concerned carer of a mutual client, they tell me that this gentleman has had his benefit stopped. I ask for further information and I am told this is because they were deemed ‘fit for work’ following a medical assessment. The carer, client and I, feel the assessor must have missed some vital information and I arrange an appointment for them to call into Headway Nottingham next week, to take them through a mandatory reconsideration. I attempt to reassure the carer and client that we will support with this process.

12.30pm – I can hear a client in the day centre downstairs at Headway Nottingham, I remember that I need to speak to them about a blue-badge application. I run downstairs to chat to them and smile when I see all of the new artwork adorning the walls and rooms around the centre. After speaking to the client I make myself some lunch and take a short-break.

1.00pm – I print off an initial assessment form, a cognitive score grid and a monitoring sheet and gather our Headway Nottingham brochure. I am visiting a new client this afternoon who I have not met before, over in Mansfield. She was referred to our service via her husband as she was involved in a road traffic accident and experienced a traumatic brain injury as a result.

2.30pm – I am blown away by the lady I just met and the journey she has been on. She has just completed extensive rehabilitation and tells me that a few months previously she was unable to speak clearly or walk any distance at all. She tells me she still has ongoing problems and the most frustrating thing at the moment, is her poor memory and how isolated she feels which impacts on her mood. I discuss the possibility of making a referral for an Occupational Health assessment as this lady thinks she may need a review of the equipment she has at home. We also discuss Headway Nottingham’s day centre and the lady tells me she is keen to visit.

4.30pm – I finish my day believing that with the team at Headway Nottingham, we will be able to help the lady I just met along her journey.