An elderly care home resident told he would never walk again is back on his feet after intensive physio.
Martin Birkhans, 86, arrived at Cramond Residence, Edinburgh in January 2022 resigned to a bedbound future following a medical diagnosis.
But he persevered with the frequent physio sessions offered at the care home and is now able to walk with the help of a zimmer frame, giving him a degree of independence that he thought he had lost forever.
The improvement in his mobility enabled him to spend Christmas Day at his daughter’s house, despite earlier fears he would be forever confined to his bed.
At first, independent Balanced physio team aimed to get Martin standing independently but after seeing his progress, they kept adapting his goal-setting to strive for as much mobility as possible.
Physiotherapist Nicola McIntosh said: “While initially assessing Martin I noticed that he had some limited movement in his ankles, knees, and hips.
“After starting off with some bed-based exercises to maintain this movement in his ankles and hips, we decided to see if, with the help of a stand aid, we could progress this movement firstly to standing and then to walking.”
Martin was initially sceptical of his physiotherapists’ ambitions to increase his mobility so dramatically. However, as his range of movement grew so too did his determination to defy all odds and walk again.
Fellow physio, Benedicte Aarseth, added: “At every turn, we were surprised by just how quickly Martin was progressing – he smashed every goal we set for him.
“It’s been very rewarding for us to work with Martin but for him the development has been life-changing.”
The pace of his progress has been remarkable and has even moved some of the care home staff to tears.
Martin said: “One of the carers who first helped me move in saw me about a month later, by which time I was walking with my zimmer frame.
“When she saw me walking down the corridor using only a frame, she broke down into tears as she couldn’t believe I had made so much progress in one month.
“I am very grateful for the time and effort put in by the physio team to help me walk again. Had I moved into a home with less dedicated physiotherapists, I might still be bedbound.”
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