Fred's Story

I was a social worker and managed a day centre for older people. I also worked in youth and community work and residential child care, so I value the importance of social relationships. I retired in August 2017 and had a stroke in March 2018. When I was recovering in my hospital bed, I thought to myself “well I’m still sucking air”! The physios in hospital rehab were great with me and helped me to start walking again. I learnt then that I could make progress. Then I appeared to hit a plateau and my recovery appeared to stagnate but I realised I was finding it easier to do tasks I had previously struggled with. This has remained a pattern during my recovery. On my discharge from hospital I required a wheelchair. Again, the community based physios were great. As I learnt about physiotherapy, I realised the physios didn’t really have time in a 30-minute appointment to teach me how to do the exercises properly and safely. I have since learnt how much concentration is required, especially after a stroke, to remember the finer points of each exercise. I tried to do these exercises, but I struggled at times to do them on my own and I had a number of falls during this time, which were a setback. I slowly learnt not to be too ambitious, and be more cautious in what I was doing. My balance was affected more than I fully appreciated. I found this frustrating because I used to walk and swim 5-6 times a week and I was used to achieving the challenges I set myself. ​ I joined a local exercise class run by Chest, Heart and Stroke (a charity providing support for people currently at risk or living with chest, heart and stroke conditions). This group physio and social contact was very good for my physical and mental health. I then got botox treatment in my legs and this really helped my mobility. This dramatic improvement really helped me achieve greater independence and lifted my mood as I could achieve my targets. ​ As my therapy was ending, my physio suggested I refer myself to LEGS. This was a real game changer for me. During my initial assessment I knew the physio was really clued into my needs. This was very important for me and I felt really confident joining their classes, because to me they knew what they were doing. When I started the classes I became aware the physios were gearing my exercises to my level of need, despite being in a mixed ability group. This was very important because the physios continued to offer reassurance to myself and other participants only to do what we felt comfortable with. ​ I really enjoy meeting all the people in my LEGS groups. We come from a wide range of cultural and life experience backgrounds and I learn from them different ways of coping post-stroke. I love meeting the different personalities, seeing people come out of themselves and sharing a joke, and our ability to laugh at ourselves. ​ So, what is so good about LEGS? Well, I think it is the regular exercises we do, the sense of belonging to this group of people who are determined not to let a stroke stop them living their lives, a sense of fun during the sessions. The Neuro Café is an important part of my week now. They are a group of highly motivated people. ​ Being in a group physio session is a great incentive/motivator to keep doing the classes. It is hard to do the exercises on your own so the regular appointments help. I also like linking the exercises to daily living functional tasks like polishing and doing the dishes! The teaching input is also very helpful to develop coping mechanisms post stroke and during Covid19 Lockdown