Andy’s Journey

Andy had a Stroke affecting his left side in September 2018.

This left him with almost no movement in his left arm, and he was only able to stand and walk using a stick for short distances.

Most of all, his confidence was low and he didn’t trust his body anymore.

Andy took his first independent steps since his Stroke at Paces Stroke Group in February 2020, just before the Covid-19 lockdown.

Since the first week of lockdown, Andy has met up with his Conductor (Specialist Teacher) online and continued his Conductive Education programme remotely.

At first, both he and his Conductor were only hoping to maintain his physical skills with the hope of then achieving further progress once they could meet again in person.

However, as the period of closure continued, Andy has not only maintained his skills but has made further improvements.

He now has much greater control of his left arm, and his stepping ability and technique is improving.

He has continued to regularly walk short distances independently in his kitchen at home. Most importantly, his confidence to try things and challenge himself has developed, and he is now focused on improving even more.

Andy has this to say about the Online Stroke Group sessions:

“In the darkness of stroke recovery, our once-a-week workout with Paces puts a rare smile on our faces… Don’t sit there going rotten, let the Paces team remind your brain what it has forgotten.”