Pleasant Meadow Manor resident Ken Brown has gone from using a wheelchair to a walker in a few months.
Resident's recovery 'amazing' with physiotherapy program
Tuesday September 4, 2007 -- Deron Hamel
NORWOOD, Ont.— When 68-year-old Ken Brown was admitted to Pleasant Meadow Manor in April, he had just suffered a bad fall which had left him in a wheelchair. His doctors told him he would never walk again.

Brown, who has an intellectual disability, had been living in a group home at the time of his accident. With the group home unable to continue providing Brown with adequate care, he moved into the Norwood long-term care home.

Jump ahead 4 1/2 months.

After receiving physiotherapy and a lot of support and encouragement from the home’s staff, Brown is now on his feet again with the help of a walker. Although he still uses his wheelchair to get around most of the time, his mobility and outlook on life have improved, say the home’s staff.

When he first arrived at the home Brown was upset about the grim prognosis he’d received from doctors.

“We told him that we would do everything we can,” says Barbara Ross, a physiotherapy assistant who works with Brown. “He has worked really hard and with a lot of encouragement he has carried on.”

Ross is spending a lot of one-on-one time with Brown in the physiotherapy room at the home.

Brown started his physiotherapy program with Ross helping him to support himself on rails to improve his balance. Once he mastered the rails, Brown tried his hand at the parallel bars.

“He worked a long time on the parallel bars,” says Ross. “His goal is to walk with a walker and be able to take care of himself.”

After a while on the parallel bars, Ross says Brown began to get bored and wanted new challenges. That’s when Ross introduced him to the walker.

“At first he was very shaky, but as he got stronger he used the walker and now he can walk with assistance.”

Ross characterizes Brown’s progress as “amazing,” adding the relentless encouragement he has received from staff has also played a part in his recovery.

“We talk him up and tell him how fantastic he’s doing and tell him that he (will) reach his goal if he keeps up the hard work that he’s doing, making it more his work than ours,” she says.