The rehab unit was great. It was a very structured environment. I didn't really understand why they got me to do some of things they did, tests that made no sense. But I just put that down to the fact they were doctors and I wasn't. So my time there was quite structured. I'd have an hour doing occupational therapy in the morning, which went from filling out a questionnaire about how independent I was before falling ill to where I was now and where I hoped to be in the future.
They would then get me to stand in a standing frame to try and build up the strength in my muscles and play solitaire, which I've still not cracked so if anybody knows the solution, that's a good thing, to playing with wooden blocks and puzzles to get your brain and your co-ordination working together.
In terms of the physiotherapy, that was really quite intensive. Within my first week there, because I was born with cerebral palsy, I remember saying to the physio, "Well hang on, stop trying to correct what was there before, I just want to get back up on my feet and walking the way I was." Because at least I could walk. And she was quite a strong character and she said, "Look we're trying to do the best for you, so if we can correct some of the problems you had from your previous illness, then we'll do that at the same time." So I sat corrected and over the next three months she and her team did a phenomenal job, frustrating at times because you don't see progress every day and you think, you want to get better, you want to get fit so you're up and standing etcetera. But you can't and I found that very frustrating.
It was something that people just sort of, you know, stop trying so hard and just let your body do the work. But the amount of progress I made in what was a relatively short period of time, was phenomenal. Taking your first steps again, firstly in the hydrotherapy pool and then actually with a frame and then, you know, without the frame and walking arm in arm and then independently, the sense of personal achievement and happiness was absolutely phenomenal. It's indescribable how good it felt being up and walking. |
