ROBBIE Honeyman was asleep when he suffered a stroke last year and woke up on the floor beside his bed.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Hilltops resident gathered his strength and walked to his mother's nearby home for help.
From there he was transported to hospitals in Young, Cootamundra and later to Canberra where he was told he might never walk again.
"Two doctors had [written] me off and said I would never walk again," he said.
IN OTHER NEWS:
He was then referred to Wagga Base Hospital where he was introduced to physiotherapist Sam Doolan.
"I was lucky enough to run into Sam, and with her knowledge and expertise she got me back walking again," he said.
"But, I still had a problem of I couldn't bend my ankle, so I was just dragging my toes."
Access to a device called the Bioness l300, which is an electrical neuromuscular simulator, would not only help Mr Honeyman take back control of his ankle but speed up his recovery time.
However, the hospital did not have the funding to acquire the device alone despite its benefits during the initial part of a patient's rehab.
It was a generous donation of $27,000 from the Wagga Base Hospital Auxiliary that made the purchase possible.
Rehabilitation specialist Dr Rachael McQueen said the stimulator will be game-changing for patients like Mr Honeyman.
"It takes the thinking out of walking for Robbie, so he's able to walk over all different terrains, and it also looks at his walking speeds or even just his foot clearance based on what his walking speed is," she said.
"So it's going to allow patients here to look at having improved outcomes much earlier after their injuries, and it looks at also getting them home more quickly."
The president of the hospital auxiliary, Rodney Parsons, described it as a pleasure to see the money that he and his 30 committee volunteers had raised help patients like Mr Honeyman literally get back on their feet.
"It's good to know that someone's been helped by some of the gear that we pay for," he said.
"We're very well supported by all citizens of Wagga who bring all these goods in for us to sell [at the auxiliary op-shop] and to make the money that we need to help the hospital."
Now benefiting from the stimulator, Mr Honeyman has regained some control of his ankle but is optimistic that he will make a full recovery later down the line.
"Whoever gets to experience all the benefits of this is going to be very lucky," he said.
"I wish it got here sooner."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Download our app from the Apple Store or Google Play
- Bookmark dailyadvertiser.com.au
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters