Experts help stroke victim get fit

An action man from Cannock Wood who was paralysed down his left side after a stroke is battling back to fitness with the help of experts at Cannock Chase Hospital.

Barry Allport, aged 57, was on a mountain biking holiday in the Lake District in August 2007 when he suffered the stroke.

After spending two weeks in a hospital in Kendal, he was transferred to Fairoak ward at Cannock Chase Hospital, where physiotherapists helped him first to stand and then to take a few steps, with a brace to support his ankle. He now walks with the aid of a stick, is able to drive again and has built up the strength in his left arm.

Mr Allport, who lives with his wife Patricia in Hayfield Hill, said: "The staff at Cannock Chase Hospital have been brilliant. They looked after me very well on Fairoak ward, and my physiotherapists, Suzanne and Marie, have worked wonders." Before his stroke, he used to run his own upholstery business and kept himself fit, cycling, running and weight training.

He spent three weeks on Fairoak ward after his stroke and then began attending the hospital's Day Rehabilitation Unit, where he had physiotherapy and did woodwork in the occupational therapy workshops. Now he has two physiotherapy sessions a week at the hospital.

"My arm has improved the most from the work I've done with the physiotherapists in the gym there," said Mr Allport.

"During the woodwork sessions, where I used hand tools to make things like bird tables, I had to stand, which was good for improving my balance. They also helped me to pass my driving assessment. Although I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to my upholstery business, I do hope I'll find work again. At the moment I'm using the exercise cycle but I hope I'll soon have the confidence to get back on my mountain bike."

The ward has 28 beds, 19 of which are for patients with neurological problems, including strokes and multiple sclerosis, and nine for older patients.

Dr Anthony Oke, who specialises in stroke and elderly care, said: "We link closely with teams of physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, dietitians and social services so that we can react very quickly to the individual needs of our patients. The therapists work on Fairoak and, after patients go home, they can continue their treatment by coming into the hospital's Rehabilitation Day Unit."