So you were using the wheelchair and then you progressed to the Zimmer frame?

MmHmm.

What was it like the first time that you started to walk using the Zimmer frame?

Well it was pretty scary, but I had no falls or anything. So I guess that’s good.

And so after the Zimmer frame came the stick?

The crutches. And then one crutch, and the stick. And now sometimes my sister and brother-law they take me out for a walk, and I don’t take anything.

And now can you walk quite far without using your stick?

Yeah, well I sometimes walk all the way down to the park down the road. That’s about fifteen minutes’ walk and I go there and back.

Well I’ve got like a group of friends who I sometimes go and see, but a lot of my friends were from work and I don’t really get to see them too often because I’m not going to work.

So what kind of things do you do when you see your friends?

Like, the other day was my friend’s birthday. So just went round his house for a few drinks and listen to music and play computer.

Is it the same as before?

Pretty much, yeah. When we do get together it’s pretty much the same as it was before. I see my brother-law. I see him a lot. I’m quite good friends with him, but like I hardly see my work friends now. And my other friends from school, I see them once every couple of weeks.

Well I’ve got like a group of friends who I sometimes go and see, but a lot of my friends were from work and I don’t really get to see them too often because I’m not going to work.

So what kind of things do you do when you see your friends?

Like, the other day was my friend’s birthday. So just went round his house for a few drinks and listen to music and play computer.

Is it the same as before?

Pretty much, yeah. When we do get together it’s pretty much the same as it was before. I see my brother-law. I see him a lot. I’m quite good friends with him, but like I hardly see my work friends now. And my other friends from school, I see them once every couple of weeks.

Tell me about learning to walk again.

Well when it first happened I was in the wheelchair and now I walk about in here with no stick. But when I go outside I take a stick with me. But that’s probably the only area I can see definite progress in, because I went from a chair to a Zimmer frame and then crutches and then a stick. So
Was that all with the help of physiotherapy?

Yeah.

So what kind of things did the physios do?

There were trying to strengthen my core muscles. So that was my biggest problem.

How did they go about strengthening your core muscles?

Just like various exercises like stepping up in a certain way and, you know, do various things to strengthen it.

So you had memory problems, and problems walking and problems talking. Out of those three things was there one of them that was harder than the others?

I guess the most important things that I wanted to improve was walking and talking. Walking would affect me a lot and decide what I could and couldn’t do. Also I had occupational therapy and I’ve been getting a bus to the supermarket with them. So that’s given me a bit of freedom.