|
|
 |
Press Release
|
Evening Standard 22 March 04 - Occupational Therapy Special
Interview by Justine Speller
"Doctors' said I'd never walk again"
Occupational therapists are the unsung heroes of the health and care services. Here 54-year-old Graeme Leith tells how, with the help of occupational therapy, he defied the doctors and walked again
A WEEK after having a major back operation, my consultant broke it to me that I would never walk again. I was completely stunned: I'm not normally lost for words but this bit of news totally shut me up.
It was January, 1997, and my wife Sue and I had been on our annual skiing trip, this time to Val d'Isere in the French Alps. We're a sports-loving family: before the injury I was a triathlete with a passion for cycling; we went skiing every year and my son is a professional snow- boarder
I had been getting backache before the holiday. My doctor had prescribed the usual anti-inflammatories. I put it down to excessive training. But three days into our trip and my back started bothering me again. It was worst when I bent over to tie my boots: the pain in the small of my back nearly made me pass out. For the rest of the week, I went to a physiotherapist who thought it was just a muscular problem.
I tried to ski but had to give up. So I rested but the pain wouldn't go away. The night before we left it was much worse and I was finding it difficult to stand up. In the morning I couldn't get out of bed.
The doctor came and dialed an ambulance. I was taken to the nearest hospital but they didn't know what to do with me as they only dealt with things such as torn ligaments. I was then taken to a larger hospital where they did a CT scan and decided they had to operate immediately: I needed a laminectomy.
Basically a disc (the soft bits in between vertebrae which allow the spine to bend and flex) in my lower back had burst and wrapped itself around my spinal column: the disc had to be removed to relieve pressure on the spinal canal.
Next morning there was no pain but I was completely numb. The doctors did the obvious things like sticking needles in me but I couldn't feel a thing. I stayed in the French hospital for about three days. The doctors reckoned I'd be skiing again in about a year.
On the flight home, the insurance company booked six seats: for me and gave me an oxygen, mask, which I found slightly melodramatic. When we landed it was a bit like a Carry On movie I as they had to lay my stretcher on a. drinks trolley to wheel me into the terminal.
I was taken straight to a private hospital in Kent. The orthopaedic specialist wanted me to have an MRI scan as it would be more detailed than the CT scan I'd had in France. He was concerned because I was still numb. It transpired that I needed to have a second operation because they could still see lumps near my spine and there was concern the first operation hadn't worked. When I came round there seemed to be no change at all: I still couldn't feel a thing. About a week later, the specialist told me I would be permanently paraIysed from the waist down and there was no chance I would ever walk again. I was devastated. Twelve days later, I was moved to a rehabilitation center. Unsted Park in Surrey, where I started my occupational therapy.
Despite my being grumpy I had the most wonderful support from my wife, my son and friends and, of course, the occupational therapists who were fantastic. The occupational therapist in charge of my case was great fun and I got on very well with her. I went from angrily thinking, "What the hell are you doing?" to having a very high regard for her.
She was responsible for deciding what sort of exercise I did each week. We would sit down and go over my progress and discuss the next goal. She was very supportive when I wanted to push myself further, even though the consultants didn't agree. I would have about six sessions per day, each about 40 minutes long. None of the occupational therapists ever said to me, "I don't know how much progress you can ever make ..." but all of the consultants I worked with told me, "You're never going to walk again-get used to it".
My view of the consultants rapidly deteriorated, It was as if they were taking the easy option: if I never managed to walk again, I wouldn't feel let down. Yet studies show that if you want someone to do well, you should raise their expectations, not lower them.
Initially, the sessions included eye-hand co-ordination and throwing and catching a ball. At the time I couldn't see the benefit: I just wanted to start working on my bottom half. Later, I realised that these exercises were very useful when it came to working at my desk, as it taught me to sit without flopping all over the place.
Physiotherapy sessions would include exercises to encourage and stimulate my legs. I also did hydrotherapy and later, when I got stronger, I used a small gym. Another thing they got me to do was art classes, something I'd never done before. It. was very therapeutic and it showed me that I was able to do other things. One therapist would take me outside the clinic in my wheelchair and time how quickly I could get around the drive. She also taught me how to take apart and rebuild my wheelchair, which came in handy when I was eventually able to use my car. This was possible through a hand control for brake and accelerator.
Being able to drive again was a delight as it gave me a sense of independence. After about three months I was allowed home at weekends. It felt as if I was at boarding school.
Exercise helped build up my upper and lower-body strength. Walking came in stages. First, I had to learn to stand without blacking out as I had been lying down for so long, then I had to stand without straps, then they applied fiberglass splints and I could walk like a tin soldier.
I went from using a wheelchair to walking with sticks with three legs. It was mid-July when I first walked by myself at home across the living- room floor. My employers were very supportive. I was working for PA Consulting where I specialised in management training. My first day back at work was at the beginning of June. I began with one day a week. I had to prove that I could still do my job.
Occupational therapy helped me make targets. It also helped me evaluate how well I was doing. That year my nephew was getting married before Christmas and my goal was to walk into church and out again without the wheelchair. I managed this and also got drunk fairly quickly mainly because I hadn't had any alcohol for so long!
The following year I was going to a rehabilitation centre three times a week. My wife bought me a tricycle. Just sitting in the saddle was a thrill. I went to France with a friend for a week's cycling - him on his mountain bike and me on my trike. We were in such high spirits by the end of the trip that I wanted to ride his bike. I did and was over the moon.
TODAY seven years later, I would say my health is very good though I would still describe myself as someone recovering from paraplegia. I can manage a slow jog but I have drop-foot which means I can't flex my foot upwards.
Apart from that, life is great. My wife and I moved to Cornwall and with a partner; we set up a business consultancy, Morgan Leith Partnership. I work from home.
Last year, we went skiing and on the last day of the holiday I managed to ski down the black run - the longest in Europe. All the way down I hear myself screaming and laughing for joy. I was finally able to let go and leave my fears behind.
Throughout that whole experience the people I value most were the hands-on people -the occupational therapists who worked with me and did everything they could to encourage and support me in my quest to walk again. For this I am eternally grateful. |
| [ Top ] |
|  |
|
