My name’s Charlie, I’m 55, and I live in North Somerset with my wife Wendy. Before my stroke, I was very active – running half marathons and cycling. I was fit and healthy.
But, out of the blue, all that changed.
I had a stroke at home and was rushed to Southmead Hospital. Scans showed swelling on my brain, and I needed emergency surgery. It saved my life.
I spent a week in intensive care with Wendy and my two daughters by my side, none of us knowing what the future would hold.
Then the physios came. That moment gave me hope – I could start to see a way forward.
At first, it took three people and a hoist just to help me sit upright. I felt like a toddler, learning everything again from scratch.
A month of intense rehab followed before I moved to the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Centre for further recovery. I lived away from home for six months. All that time I was desperate to get back to my family – to feel like me again.
It was five long months before I could walk out of hospital with a stick, supported by a physiotherapist. Looking back, I do wonder – if I’d had access to something like the Walkerbot earlier in my recovery, could I have come home sooner?
The Walkerbot is a piece of kit that helps patients like me stand, move, and start walking again – safely and with confidence. That first time standing up again after a stroke is not just physically important; it’s such an emotional lift as well. It shows you what might still be possible.
If I’d used the Walkerbot, I think I could have hit my “new normal” quicker. And that really matters – not just for people like me, but for our families too.
Since then, I’ve been living at home where I walk with a stick, and have to use a wheelchair when I leave the house. Wendy has given up her work to care for me, and our lives have changed beyond recognition. But we’re making the best of this new life. And we’re grateful – for the care we received from the amazing staff, for the support, and for what I can do now.
The Walkerbot would be a game-changer – not just for patients, but for therapists too. It saves their time, protects their bodies from the physical toll involved, and motivates everyone involved. It’s a team effort. And the Walkerbot gives that team a shared goal and a real sense of hope.
If you’re thinking of supporting this appeal, I’d just say: you’ll be giving people like me the best chance of getting their lives back to normal. You’ll be making their recovery quicker and easier, and you’ll be building on the brilliant work that the staff at Southmead Hospital do already.
