A Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI) stroke patient who made a remarkable recovery has said ‘thank you’ by raising an amazing £1,300 for our Therapy Unit.
Father-of-two Phil Smith, 48, a professional driver with the Dalesman Group and barman, hosted a fundraising evening at Clayton Liberal Club with his wife, Angela, to raise funds for future patients at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Mr Smith was changing a barrel at the club on November 17, 2018 when he lost the feeling in and control of his hands.
After being rushed to BRI, he was found to have suffered a serious stroke with a 4cm bleed on his brain which left him in a wheelchair with a lack of movement down his left-hand side.
Mr Smith also had a very high systolic blood pressure of 288, which meant the Therapy team couldn’t review him in the first few days.
However, thanks to his determination and our talented rehabilitation and nursing teams, he made rapid progress, eventually being discharged into the care of our community-based Early Supportive Discharge team on December 18.
Amazingly, just ten months on, the Queensbury resident is back working in the office with the Dalesman Group, driving – and pulling pints at the Lib Club!
Hospital
He said: “I remember everything on the night until I got to the hospital – there were no warning signs at all. I couldn’t control my hands and was pulling beer everywhere.
“I was left in a wheelchair. It was a hard time but the therapists on the ward and in the neuro-community teams have been absolutely superb and have had a huge impact.
“If it wasn’t for them I would have given up. They just give you that drive to do really well.
“I am now back walking and have not used the wheelchair since August. I am still weak on my left-hand side and have no feeling in my fingers and toes but I am coping.
“I’m back at work, too, and after Christmas I’m going back full time. We just wanted to raise some money to say thank you. Having my independence back has made a massive difference.”
Angela Smith, steward at Clayton Liberal Club, said: “We had a great night fundraising, raising a total of £1,295 in the end. We’ll always be grateful to the Stroke Unit and Therapy teams – everyone was amazing.”
Mr Smith also singled out two of the Trust’s occupational therapists for special praise – Laura Stubbs and Lorna Smith.
Rebecca Quayle, Stroke and Neurology Physiotherapist and Team Leader, said: “Mr Smith was in hospital for a long time. When he first arrived he couldn’t walk or move his arm or leg on his left-hand side.
Exceptional progress
“With the help and guidance of the full multidisciplinary team including nurses, healthcare assistants, and rehabilitation support workers alongside his therapists, he made exceptional progress.
“To help his recovery, he had regular therapy, which included physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and exercise groups. We worked with him for six weeks in total and then he was in the hands of our Early Support Discharge team, who worked with him at his home within 72 hours of his discharge.
“He was very motivated. To get back to driving and pulling pints is very good!”
The Therapy team plan to use the money raised by the Smiths to put together upper limb activity kits, allowing our stroke patients to exercise in their own time on the stroke unit.
Physiotherapist Suzy Taylor said: “People are usually on the stroke ward for about six weeks and patients have an hour of therapy a day – but there are a lot more hours to fill. We want patients to feel they are part of the rehab process and can make an impact on their own recovery.
“The kits will allow patients to continue therapy on their own, increasing the intensity of their rehabilitation.”
Physiotherapy Team Leader, Rebecca Quayle, added: “With the money Mr Smith and his wife have raised we will be able to buy 10 upper limb exercise kits which will be full of tools, games and activities. It’s lovely that they thought about the Therapy team.”
Picture caption: Phil and Angela Smith with Physiotherapist Suzy Taylor and Stroke and Neurology Physiotherapist and Team Leader Rebecca Quayle (right).