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Once his pain became under control, his first goal was to stand.
Over a few weeks, the rehabilitation team set about supporting him to achieve that, which meant the world to John because he could then set another, very special, goal. John shares his experience:
The whole rehab experience is vital. I’d been desperate to get out of the bed as I’d been unwell in hospital for many weeks and when I came here the physios, the occupational therapists, worked with me every day. They got me to sit up, then they got me into the reclining chair, which is a wonderful thing, and I then started using the walker, working hard on my muscle recovery, it's a credit to the team.
Never in my life have I been in a wheelchair, but yesterday I started whizzing around the Hospice garden in a wheelchair. For me to get into a wheelchair was incredibly liberating; because of the movement, I could make decisions about where I was going, I’m in control. That was amazing and that's a testament to the Hospice. I am really confident and they just let me loose; I saw the pathway, I saw the pond, I went down the hill, all with the team keeping an eye on me.
It is important to me because the day after tomorrow, I am marrying Alison. I want to reach her independently in the Hospice lounge for our wedding ceremony. We’ve been together over 21 years, it's a long engagement, but I took that decision because I love Alison.
St Helena is a wonderful institution, full of caring people, full of people who want to make a difference, passion, willingness to listen, care, a wonderful team. The way they treat the patients is outstanding and I found the key to its success is in its philosophy and ethos; kindness and love and empathy. It’s changed me, I feel different.
Because of the way I've been treated, it's been such an important part of my life in recent weeks. Wonderful institution, wonderful ethos, wonderful support.
I think without St Helena, I wouldn’t be where I am right now. We’ve got the pain under control and now because I'm so happy about how I've been looked after, I'm getting married and I want to say thanks for supporting me.
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