Desney’s Journey

Desney suffered a stroke in April 2013 and joined our Adult Stroke Group in September 2015.

When she arrived at Paces, she lacked confidence, specifically with her ability to access her physical environment. Desney was very wary about visiting places she didn’t know, and it often stopped her from going to new places. She also relied heavily on her husband to assist her with all aspects of her daily life.

As the sessions developed, Desney’s confidence in her physical ability grew. We worked with her to set personalised targets and goals and were able to focus on developing her ability to trust her body again and believe she was able to move forward. Being part of a cohesive group also enabled Desney to benefit from sharing their successes and those of her fellow group members.

Desney made massive progress towards meeting her individualised targets; she became more independent in key life skills such as dressing and felt able to get out and about more. The pinnacle of her success was that she felt confident enough to go on her first holiday with her friends since her Stroke.

Desney’s husband found as her independence grew, he felt more comfortable leaving Desney for longer periods, helping with everyday tasks such as shopping, as a result of Desney’s support, his feelings of isolation also reduced.

During the Covid-19 lockdown, Desney and her husband were very happy when Paces contacted them about the online sessions. It opened opportunities for feeling less isolated, and after becoming familiar with using the video-link system (zoom), also allowed them to use it to make contact with their son, daughter and grandkids, which gave them a big lift.

Desney has this to say about the online sessions:

“I especially enjoy the online group sessions and seeing the other members. It is so good for both my physical and mental health.”