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E-Physio Associates Limited - Patients' Stories
Patient’s story of Ian Williams aged 66 years,
Stroke.
Job: Chartered Accountant specialising in insolvency.
How it started
I had been receiving treatment for high blood pressure (hypertension) since 1995. In 2003 I had a successful operation to clear the lining of my left carotid artery (carotid endarterectomy).
While attending my three year old grandson’s birthday party in March 2009, I began to feel very unwell with quite severe pains in my back and abdomen.
My son and daughter in law insisted that I attend the A&E department of the local hospital in Kingston upon Thames. I was transferred rapidly to St George’s in Tooting, where fortunately for me a specialist team of cardio vascular surgeons was already in position.
I was quickly diagnosed with an enlarged aortic aneurysm which ruptured whilst I was undergoing diagnosis.
My life was saved by the superb skill and dedication of the consultant surgeon, who repaired the rupture finishing his work two hours later at 4 am on the Sunday morning.
Over the next 24 hours, whilst in intensive care, I was again operated on to stem a small residual leakage of blood into my abdomen.
The consequences
At some time during these two operations, I suffered multiple emboli infarcts in the right hemisphere of my brain, leaving me with an immobile left arm and hand, although my sense of touch remained unimpaired.
I spent a total of nineteen days in St Georges’ intensive care unit, before I was discharged to continue my rehabilitation at home.
The treatment
I was recommended to consult a neuro physiotherapist who visited me at home within two days of contact being made.
Following her assessment, I was initially given a number of exercises to do involving arm movements and other simple actions designed to repair the nerve pathways from my brain to the muscles in my left arm and fingers.
However, the physiotherapy did not stop with my left arm but encompassed much wider aspects of my body’s adverse reactions to many of the effects of the stroke.
My physiotherapist concentrated particularly upon getting me to re-learn walking properly and also on the repair of my general balance mechanisms.
During regular visits thereafter my progress was monitored closely and as use of my arm and my general muscle tone improved as a result of the exercises I was given to do, much of the lost dexterity in my left arm and hand has returned, although the process of rehabilitation is continuing.
Conclusions
I am lucky to be alive to tell this story and fortunate the disabilities stemming from the stroke are responding to the course of neuro physiotherapy being set out by E-Physio Associates.
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