UvA student Jim Moorman (26) suffered a brain injury: “Sometimes I’m just able to walk”
Law student Jim Moorman was on course for a degree cum laude but has been sick in bed for 15 months. He hit his head in the spring of 2023, causing brain damage. A crowdfunding campaign will help him pay for treatment. “If I can come out of this well, I want to help people in similar positions.”
Lying in bed, taking a short walk, but then quickly going back to bed, with the windows closed so no sound gets through. For UvA student Jim Moorman (26) this is a dire necessity, every day. His brain cannot process too many stimuli, as noise from outside quickly causes headaches. It makes him almost entirely dependent on the care of his parents and friends.
How different it was a year ago. Jim was in the middle of life, had many social contacts, and enjoyed traveling. He had only two more exams to go and had a good chance of finishing his bachelor’s degree in law with honors. After graduation, with his impressive grade list, he wanted to work at the Zuidas. He was also going to do academic research in Italy.
But one moment of rashness in the spring of 2023 brought an end to that life of opportunity and possibility. While getting in the car, he bumped his head accidentally against the top part of the car. “I didn't immediately think anything was wrong,” Moorman says. He felt a brief twinge of pain, but otherwise it didn't seem too bad. Until five hours later, while he was staring at his screen to work on his thesis, his vision all at once went blurry. He became dizzy and suddenly developed a stabbing headache.
Brain injury
A scan at the hospital revealed that he had suffered brain damage. The fact that he was just recovering from a corona infection that had affected his entire brain may also have contributed, doctors in the U.S. think, although in the Netherlands they dispute this. Regardless of that, since then he has been bedridden and his life has been turned upside down. Through a crowdfunding campaign, he recently tried to pay for a pricey treatment in the U.S. - a specialist treatment not offered in the Netherlands. On Tuesday, the counter passed the €30,000 mark - enough to finance the treatment.
When Folia speaks to him, that news has just arrived. “I'm really very happy about it. Three days ago I was only halfway through and then suddenly it went fast.” The treatment will be grueling, he says. Going through therapies every day from eight in the morning to six at night. “People have to vomit constantly during this treatment. Basically, it pushes you completely past your limit. The fact that he has been home alone for 15 months makes it especially tough, so the treatment will be a major switch in his daily routine.
Helping other people
But it is more than worth it for Jim because he is finally free of his hopeless situation. He immediately made new plans for the future. His goal is no longer to go to the Zuidas. “Because of my brain injury, I now know what it's like to be in a position where you can't do anything at all. If I can come out of this well, I want to start helping other people in similar positions, because I now know how much you need that help then.”
Partly for this reason, Moorman also enjoys telling his story. The phone conversation goes well: his voice is clear and steady, and occasionally he laughs and jokes. How he feels varies
by the day. When asked, he reveals that he cannot go for a walk after the interview, let alone engage in a more vigorous activity. That would mean too much stimulus. He will return to bed, under the covers, with the windows closed.
Jim's crowdfunding campaign is still running. Any extra money will go toward aftercare in the Netherlands which is not reimbursed by health insurance companies.
