A woman who lost the feeling in one of her legs after surgery to remove a brain tumour has praised the specialist rehabilitation she received as the “equivalent Savile Row” for its “incredible, bespoke” and personalised approach.
Beth Robertson is sharing her story for Rehabilitation Awareness Week (14 to 20 September) to highlight how rehabilitation care helps people to recover, stay well and live as fully as possible.
Beth suffered a seizure on the second May bank holiday last year. She had not experienced any symptoms before, apart from occasionally tripping over, which she had attributed to osteoarthritis.
She was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, where doctors discovered a satsuma-sized meningioma, a benign tumour in the layers of tissue covering the brain.
She stayed in hospital for a week undergoing scans and tests and was put on anti-seizure medication. The entire tumour was successfully removed last August. However she lost the feeling in her right leg.
Beth, who lives in Saffron Walden, said: “Post operation, my brain somehow forgot my leg.
“There was nothing wrong with my leg but my brain had lost connection with it. If I couldn’t see my foot or leg, I couldn’t tell you where it was.
“It was like out of sight, out of mind. The nerves were offline in places.”
The neurophysiotherapy team at Addenbrooke’s helped Beth to regain enough mobility to use a walking frame and a splint.
She was then referred to the Uttlesford community physiotherapy team from Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT), where she began working with physiotherapist Adriana Tetla and then Mel Atkinson, who specialises in neurological physiotherapy.
She was able to walk with a stick within a few weeks of leaving hospital.
Beth was initially treated at home by Adriana last September, then began attending the rehabilitation gym at Saffron Walden Hospital in October with Mel. The weekly physio sessions focused on improving her balance, strength, and proprioception, which is the sensory awareness of body position.
She said the personalised approach and collaborative relationship she built with Mel played a key role in her recovery.
She said: “It was wonderful because it was so personal, and personalised. Mel completely figured my personality out and what I needed. She ‘talked Beth’, which is a really wonderful skill because I could see her do that with her other patients and figuring them out.
“The care was so bespoke and incredible, that just blew me away. It was the equivalent of going to Savile Row and having a special shirt or pair of shoes made to measure.
“It was personalised to me and my needs. It was very holistic, mind and body. It actually felt very joyful. I feel I’m a glass half full person but those joyful moments really helped my recovery, to feel positive and to feel after each treatment that it was a really good session.”
Beth was able to return to work by December, and in January this year she was referred to her local gym to continue building her strength. Pilates and deep tissue massages have complemented the physiotherapy.
She uses a splint or walking stick when she needs to, and is working towards being able to drive again.
She is grateful for the care she received from both Addenbrooke’s and the Uttlesford community physiotherapy team.
“If I could award an OBE to Mel Atkinson she would be very deserving of that,” said Beth.
“Everyone is an unsung hero, they’re amazing.”
Mel said successful rehabilitation depends on patients and therapists working together to understand the problem, identify solutions, and having honest conversations about goals, challenges, and progress.
She said: “Beth worked incredibly hard, both during and between sessions, to address her difficulties and practise the strategies we had been developing.
“This commitment is one of the most important factors in giving someone the best opportunity to improve and achieve lasting progress.
“Every patient is unique. Differences in diagnosis, symptoms, understanding of their body, motivation, and the wider circumstances of their lives all influence the rehabilitation process.
“The better we understand each individual’s experience, the better placed we are to provide support that helps them improve their function, wellbeing, and quality of life.”
About EPUT:
- EPUT has a vision to be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care: Who we are – Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
- EPUT provides services to more than 100,000 patients at any one time and our staff are focused on providing high quality care in often complex situations.
- The organisation has invested in inpatient facilities and community services to make them safer and more therapeutic. We have extensively invested in technology to keep patients safer, enhanced training, and are continuously working with our staff, patients, their families and carers to use learning and best practice to enhance our quality of care.
- While there is more to do, the Trust has made significant progress through innovation:
- Our 111 mental health crisis phone line ensures people in need can access support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
- People with lived experience have been employed in designated roles across the Trust, ensuring patient voice is heart of the organisation and all that we do.
- A number of new initiatives have been launched, helping people access the support they need when they need it most. These include a mental health urgent care department, By Your Side maternal mental health service, Rough Sleeper team, mental health crisis ambulance cars, virtual wards and neuromodulation service.
- EPUT was formed on 1 April 2017 and provides community health, mental health and learning disability services across Essex, Luton and Bedfordshire and Suffolk. We employ more than 7,200 staff working across more than 200 sites.
- To read more about our priorities and commitments to deliver the highest quality and safest care possible, visit https://eput.nhs.uk/about-us/2023-2028-strategic-plan/