The experiences of patients in our stroke care

 

Below are stories from patients who have benefitted from stroke care in our Heathfield 1 Stroke Unit, our community services or other settings.

If you want to return to the our main page for Heathfield 1 click here. If you want to see other links to our stroke services click here.

 

"With the help of this Rehab team, I have learned to do those things again.” - Theresa Gater

"My name is Theresa Gater. I work in Public Health Croydon. I deliver a suite of mental health training courses, including a Mental Health First Aid two-day adult course, and am the Chair of the staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Network.

"After planned surgery on my shoulder on 3 July 2017 I suffered a stroke on the night of 9/10 July and collapsed at home. I have no recollection of the event.  

"I spent three nights in the Princess Royal at Farnborough, followed by nine nights in the Heathfield 1 Stroke Unit at Croydon University Hospital. 

"My left arm was already immobile in a sling. My right side was affected by the stroke. I could not walk, feed myself or write. At this stage you do not know how much of yourself you will get back. What will you be able to do or not do.  

"With the help of the Croydon Stroke Rehabitation Team, both in hospital and in the community, I have learned to do all of those things again. The hardest part was the psychological effects of coming to terms with the new me. The psychological support I received was second to none. Camille helped me to find solutions for myself by, for example, learning to consider my own needs rather than always putting others’ before my own.  

"I had to learn to deal with this life-changing event by re-evaluating my self-image, my relationships with others and the new limitations this posed for my career. It was a very difficult time. 

"I am now back at work after a phased return, with some special ICT equipment to compensate for the numbness in my right hand. I was also able to make the move to working fewer hours each week. It was a hard decision, since I love my work and it is crucial to my self-esteem.  

"There can be life after stroke. It may not be the same as before, but it can be equally fulfilling in other ways."

 

"I suddenly found I could not get up - and that was it. But now I'm using this." - Peter Critchley

Fortunately a jogger was nearby when Peter Critchley suffered a stroke. They quickly got help.

Dr Karen Kee and her colleagues in our Heathfield 1 Stroke Unit have been using a new ‘virtual reality’ technology called MindMotion Pro to help Peter and 23 other stroke patients (as at October 2018) recover their coordination and strength. We are one of only two Trusts in England using this innovation and ours is the most in-depth work exploring its effectiveness.

Peter, who is 87, has been using its benefits to get well enough to fly to Australia and live the next stage of his life with partner Beth, who he married during this rehabilitation.

You can see Peter here on ITV London TV news talking about his experience: