What better way to start Occupational Therapy Week than with a fabulous story of how Occupational Therapist, Anita Devine, has been helping a patient whose goal is to be able to walk down the aisle in time for her wedding in January.

Anita has been helping her patient Zoe in the community for several weeks now, after she was left with debilitating symptoms due to Post Covid-19 Syndrome (Long Covid).  Zoe’s goal was to be able to confidently walk down the aisle in her (very jazzy) wedding shoes. Anita has been practicing with her – walking right alongside in her own pair of fancy shoes.  

Anita said: “Sometimes I think patients can feel a bit awkward and uncomfortable when we’re asking them to do things like this. So I had a pair of shoes I was given for my birthday, and I wore them whilst Zoe practiced wearing her wedding shoes so she didn’t feel so alone.”

Zoe said: “An Occupational Therapist is like having a professional best friend. It’s someone who checks-in with you regularly and monitors every detail of your recovery but is also there ready with a tissue when you need a good cry. It’s someone who metaphorically (and sometimes literally) holds your hand, through the most challenging, difficult and darkest times.

“Anita has shown so much care and compassion to help me prepare for my marriage in January. I could not have imagined that I would be practicing walking in my wedding shoes as part of my recovery – swapping my stick for some heels!”

More about OT Week

From getting yourself up and out of bed in the morning, driving to work or walking the dog, our outstanding Occupational Therapists (OTs) do incredible things for our patients, both in and out of our hospitals.

One of their main responsibilities is to support patients to access their meaningful occupations. Occupations are tasks that patients want to be able to do again. For example being able to stand from a chair, completing a jigsaw puzzle, hugging a family member or to dance in their favourite pair of shoes. It’s everything patients need to do every day; their occupations play a big part in making them who they are.

In our hospitals, our OTs assess patients’ abilities to perform occupations required to be able to return home. They provide rehabilitation support and advise on equipment to increase independence and help facilitate a safe discharge.

Our OTs in the community provide further rehabilitation within patients’ homes. They focus on helping patients get their lives back, in their own environment. You can see some of our fabulous OT teams in the photos below.

One of our recent patients gave some lovely feedback after receiving care from one of our Occupational Therapists, Ellie Hobson. He said: “She has really helped me to relearn how to cut vegetable, crack and cook an egg, write, dress and safely use the cooker again. She has used my setbacks to motivate me rather than take me backwards.”

You can find out more about occupational therapy at the information stalls taking place at both main entrances between 09:30am - 12pm on Wednesday and Friday. Colleagues are also invited to wear a splash of green on Thursday, 9th November to celebrate our OTs who wear green trousers as part of their uniform.