Nigel’s Story

Nigel had a Stroke 7 years ago, which has affected his ability to speak, eat and drink as well as move his right side. His left leg is also affected. At the time of his stroke, the doctors told his family it was a very bad one and they prepared them that he had only minutes to live. Now 7 years on, he is still here.

Nigel is a full-time wheelchair user and has been living in a care home for the last 5 years. Before his stroke, he was working as an engineer on big construction projects. He also managed to find time for composing and playing my own music.

He has always been actively involved in the local community in Clevedon and has led an active life. Playing football only a week before his stroke and having been a long term member of the tennis club, he was still playing a good level in his senior years. When he was younger, he was playing tennis at a regional championship level and enjoyed the competitive elements of sport. Nigel is still competitive and likes to push himself.

This year, he has taken the step to plan for living on his own away from the care home. This gives him more privacy and an ability to concentrate on his hobbies such as music and his family.

In his therapy sessions, he has been working on standing to transfer in and out of a wheelchair. For a while now, he has been trying to take a few steps. Just attempting to move his right leg is extremely effortful.

Standing and walking in the Exomotus enables Nigel to stand tall and look family members directly in the eye. It is a great feeling to be able to experience walking. With the assistive mode, it is not as effortful and he can do a lot more repetitions which are needed for him to loosen up his joints and retrain his muscles to contract at the right times.

For Nigel, he would like to use the exo 1x a week and concentrate his other days on other exercises such as for his arm and voice.

Nigel says, ‘My legs feel painful after using the exo. This is in a good way. It feels like they have had a workout.’

 ‘I think this equipment will enable many more people to experience walking and may even help them to stay motivated to push themselves and learn transfers, giving them independence. Next to the positive effect of gravity in standing on your body’s functions, it is important for your mental health to be able to stand and be as tall as the people around you.’

Watch Nigel’s story below:

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