David suffered a severe stroke on 25th of November 2017. He was completely paralysed down his left side, losing two of the four lobes on the right side of his brain. David was 27, super fit and in his 3rd year at Nottingham University studying Mechanical Engineering.
Upon admission to hospital, we were told David would need to stay there for a number of months and he spent a week in the high dependency ward at Nottingham City hospital. In the second week he was transferred to the rehabilitation ward and again, we were told he would be there for several weeks, if not months.
David received 3-4 Physio sessions a week in those 2 weeks but had no real idea when they were going to happen. This resulted in him not wanting to move from his bed and get some fresh air when we came to visit in case he was not at his bedside when the Physio turned up. 2 weeks after his stroke, the ward were ready to discharge him citing a shortage of beds and a belief that he would recover faster in a home environment. At this point David was still paralysed down his left side, he couldn’t walk, move himself in a wheelchair nor think beyond the next few minutes. As parents we fought to keep David in hospital for another week whilst we found an alternative. STEPS was recommended to us through a family connection.
From the minute of going into STEPS, the communication on his progress was exceptional. We had regular updates and a formal goal setting and progress meeting each month. David determined what he wanted to achieve and the Steps team either adjusted those goals if not realistic or helped him achieve it. David constantly tells me of the ambition shown by the team in his progress which drove him to greater success. The fact that David knew what Physio sessions he was due meant he could have some downtime in his own mind. Everything was based on David’s recovery – he even had a physiotherapist at meal times to help him use his left arm. There were extracurricular activities such as climbing which, whilst recovery based, was done as a separate activity and reduced the mental intensity surrounding David’s rehabilitation.
Suffice to say, David arrived at STEPS in a wheelchair before Christmas 2017 and walked out at the end of February 2018. STEPS is not cheap, and we are fortunate to have money to spend on his recovery but, in my view, it has been worth every penny.
Since leaving STEPS, David has been in the care of the community physiotherapists. Nottingham supposedly has a ‘Gold Standard’ in this area but we have yet to experience anything that comes close. Currently, David receives 1 Physio session every 2 weeks and his progress has slowed significantly.
I understand that the greater the focus on a young fit stroke survivor, the better chance he has to recover, and it is heart-breaking to see a young man with still such great potential to add value to the community be left to ‘make do’. Investing in David’s rehabilitation now will pay dividends in future years. As a result, we have taken the decision to pay for David to return to STEPS on a bi-monthly basis as an outpatient. If I had the money, he would attend every month. After a single session, David has already made more progress than he had over the last 4 weeks under the care of the community team.
As I type this, David is currently backpacking with his girlfriend in the Peak District and is planning on returning to University to complete his third year. Without STEPS, this would not have been possible.