The Saturday morning Park Run is a regular part of many people’s week, but the Easter Stowmarket run was deeply significant for four people connected to Shaftesbury Icanho. Read on for what this day meant to Paul, Sarah, Alex and Jo.
Few of us imagine we will ever experience brain injury, whether from a car accident, stroke or some other cause. But statistics reveal the fact that this injury affects hundreds of thousands each year; every 90 seconds, someone is admitted with brain injury to a UK hospital*. The good news is that Shaftesbury Icanho is here to help with expert rehabilitation, and that’s where Paul and Sarah found themselves after each experienced a devastating stroke, despite being very fit and active.
Paul’s stroke ten years ago, aged 47, shattered him: ‘It caused me significant cognitive and mobility issues, unable to work and exercise and struggling to walk.’ He was referred to Icanho to begin a six-month rehabilitation programme. ‘I was a keen runner pre-stroke and really didn’t believe I could ever return to this.’
Stroke, out of the blue
Three years ago, Sarah was at work as a physio technician instructor at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, when she was taken ill. ‘I remember driving to work, feeling fine. We had a meeting and I felt a bit off colour for a little while and everyone said are you OK? And I said yeah, I’ll be all right in a minute. And then half an hour later, I was at the computer and my arm wouldn’t work, so I tried to stand up, but obviously my leg wouldn’t work either and I just fell to the floor. I didn’t know what was going on but when my colleague Lizzie saw me, she said right away, “you’re having a stroke!”’
Sarah had not imagined ‘in a million years’ that she would ever have a stroke: ‘No history of it in my family at all.’ She left Addenbrooke’s in a wheelchair and had home-based therapy before her first appointment at Icanho, seven months on. ‘Knowing I was on the Icanho list was a lifesaver for me because my therapy had stopped and it was like, now what do I do?’
‘Both Paul and Sarah were very motivated and that makes such a significant difference to us – makes our job so much easier,’ says Icanho’s lead physiotherapist Alex Elmon. ‘We worked really hard together. With Paul it was his balance and gait, and with Sarah, who also was a runner, we had her in a suspension harness on the treadmill and on a trampette to try to manage her spasticity [abnormal muscle tightness and stiffness].’ ‘With Alex’s help and support, I progressed to walking and jogging on a treadmill, while holding onto the rails for dear life!’ Paul remembers.
Shaftesbury Icanho’s rehab team
After months of determined hard work and input from Icanho’s multi-disciplinary team, Sarah and Paul made huge improvements. Sarah, who had racked up 30 marathons in her running career, returned to running and rowing, her other passion. Ten years on, Alex bumped into Paul, who is part of an Icanho users’ group: ‘Paul said it was coming up to his ten-year anniversary and there was to be a Stowmarket Park Run on the precise day he’d had the stroke. And it just so happened that the run is held on the same field where I took Paul, when he was having therapy, to try his first run. So I thought it would be really nice to run with him, although I hadn’t been running for years.’
Sarah was already doing regular Park Runs in Cambridge and Bedford and astonishingly had completed a half-marathon. She too had a chat to Alex, when she popped into Icanho to show Alex her half-marathon medal. Alex mentioned Paul’s plan to do the Stowmarket Park Run and invited Sarah to come too. She’d never met Paul but she jumped at the chance: ‘I told Alex I’m definitely going to come. That’ll be great.’
Sarah turned up on the day with her daughter Sadie, her husband and Lizzie, her work colleague who had found her on the day of her stroke. All three were ready to run with Sarah. Adding her support was Jo Marshall, Icanho’s manager. ‘Sport and keeping active was so incredibly important to Sarah and Paul before their strokes, and it is to me too. So I understood what this event must have meant for them and how vital our help is. I wanted to be there to mark that.’
Alex was ready for the challenge: ‘I turned up and thought, well this is the first time I’ve ever done a Park Run. 5k – I can do this! I asked Paul how quick he was expecting to go round and he said “oh, about 23 minutes”. And I’m like “ok, well don’t wait for me then!”
Specialist rehab service
How did they all get on? The run was stellar for the group. Paul not only completed the 5k – he came first in his age group and achieved a new personal best. And Sadie notched up fastest female in the race, while Alex came in at a very respectable 27 minutes.
‘It was wonderful to see their elation and see Paul and Sarah reflect together on how they had been affected and how far they both had come with the help of Icanho,’ says Jo. ‘We’re a specialist service and there isn’t anyone else out there who has the interdisciplinary team on site as we do. Alex and I went away feeling this is important, this is worth fighting for, because we’re always facing funding challenges. If you think about the effects of a poor recovery, perhaps not getting back to work, and the resulting mental health and financial challenges, it makes us really see the value of what Icanho does. We’re getting an increasing number of physiotherapists and professionals asking to come and learn from what we do.’
For Paul, the day was a huge win: ‘I was honoured that Alex joined me on the day for his first Park Run and Jo was there for support. It was a great day. Ten years almost to the hour since I’d had my stroke, I could reflect on my journey and appreciate all the positive things I have achieved after being at a very low place. Thank you so much to Alex and all the other therapists at Shaftesbury Icanho who played such a huge role in my recovery.’
Vital therapy for brain injury
‘If it wasn’t for Icanho, I definitely wouldn’t be where I am now at all,’ says Sarah. ‘When I stopped having the rehab at home, I was on my own and I was thinking if I’m stuck like this now, how am I going to get on? I couldn’t write, I couldn’t even go outside. Icanho meant I knew I would have the best chance of recovery. We need Shaftesbury Icanho in every single county!’
Meanwhile, Alex has caught the running bug and is now pulling on his running shoes several times a week. ‘It’s inspired me. I did another Park Run with Paul last week and he left me behind again. I was two minutes quicker but I’m never going to catch him!’
* https://www.headway.org.uk