Stroke patient able to dance with their partner again following Physiotherapist Kirsty's innovative recovery plan
A physiotherapist has described the special moment she was able to allow a patient to dance with their partner again during rehabilitation following a serious stroke.
Kirsty Dimmick, Specialist Physiotherapist on Ward 410 at Royal Derby Hospital, worked with the patient and their family and used their love of music and dance to tailor their physio and rehabilitation. This culminated in a special moment on Valentine's Day, where the patient and his partner were able to dance together again as they had done so many times over the years.
Following a stroke, patients can often be left with long-term health issues caused by an injury to their brain. This can often lead to issues with movement, speech, or memory, and extensive physiotherapy and other treatment is required to help patients in their ongoing recovery.
Kirsty said: "Our role as physios is to assess the individual needs of a patient post-stroke and work with them to help get them moving again. This typically involves lots of work to get their bodies to experience movement again in different postures, we do our best to find out more about each patient and tailor their treatment based on what they respond best to."
In this particular case, the patient was left with severe impairments in their movement, communication, and cognition. Their road to recovery was challenging and life-altering.
When speaking to the patient and their family, Kirsty discovered they used to attend dinner dances with their partner regularly, and they both had a shared love of music and dance. With these fond memories in mind, Kirsty suggested tailoring the patient's physio around dance, with the results proving to be successful.
Kirsty added: "The patient's family brought in lots of pictures that showed their love of music and dance, so I thought this would be a great thing to incorporate into their recovery and to see if it was something we could work towards helping the patient to achieve once again."
Kirsty crafted a range of tailored sessions in the stroke rehabilitation gym to see if she could once more help the patient and their partner to dance together like they had done so many times before.
She continued: "We found that the rehabilitation work we were doing was working really well for the patient, and we were seeing some improvements not only in strength and physical wellbeing and movement, but it also helped them to continue to build on their communication which had been impacted following the stroke. It was amazing to see them doing so well and enjoying their sessions."
With the sessions going so well, Kirsty was able to facilitate a very special dance for the patient and their partner at the hospital earlier this year in a moment that touched the hearts the patient's family and members of the team on Ward 410.
Such was the impact on Kirsty's colleagues, they nominated her for a Monthly Making a Difference Award for her compassionate, person-centred approach to care, and she was recently announced as the winner of our latest Patient Hero Award.
In their nomination, Kirsty's team praised her "exceptional" care and support during what had been a very "mentally, physically, and emotional post-stroke journey for the patient and their partner", adding that this moment was something truly special.
Emma Stones, Speech and Language Therapist and one of Kirsty's colleagues, added: "Kirsty is an amazing physiotherapist who always does her best for patients and colleagues - we're so proud of her and lucky to have her on the team."
Mark Hill, Director of Nursing at UHDB, surprised Kirsty alongside members of her team, when he presented her with her award recently, praising her commitment to putting the patient's needs at the heart of their recovery.
Speaking after she was presented with her award, Kirsty said: "It was such an emotional moment to see the patient being able to share that moment with their partner again, and this is the reward for the work I do. I really wanted to make this happen for the patient and their family, and it was amazing to be a part of that.
"This recognition is the icing on the cake, especially when it comes from your team. It's very overwhelming but I'm just so pleased the patient was able to share this moment with those they love most."
Adding to the praise of her proud colleagues, Mark Hill added: "The care and attention that Kirsty has provided to this patient and their family during what has been a difficult and challenging time is a shining example of our Trust values of compassion and excellence.
"Kirsty's commitment to providing truly patient-centred care has had such an impact and has provided the patient and their loved ones with some wonderful moments, for which words aren't enough to express our thanks.
"It is a privilege to be able to present Kirsty with this award and I am sure her colleagues and those she works alongside are as proud of her as I am. Thank you, Kirsty, for everything you have done and continue to do for our patients and communities."
Would you like to nominate a colleague for a Monthly Making a Difference Award?
If you would like to nominate a colleague or team for a Monthly Making a Difference Award, please let us know.
Our Monthly Making a Difference Awards celebrate those who have shown exceptional care and who have delivered improvements across safety, quality, effectiveness and patient experience and demonstrated the Trust values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence.
There are three monthly Making a Difference Awards categories:
- Chief Executive Award – chosen by our CEO
- Patient Hero Award – nominated by patients
- Excellence Award - you can nominate colleagues and teams
You can nominate in two ways:
- Complete our new e-form which will be sent directly to our awards team >
- Send a 300 word nomination, along with the name of the team or individual, their job title and where they work, to: uhdb.employeeawards@nhs.net.