John, 82, was referred to Move 2 Independence (M2I) after a four-week hospital stay with COVID-19 and pneumonia. Living with his son and daughter-in-law, he wanted to regain his outdoor mobility and become more independent at home. Following referral through D2A, he completed six M2I sessions focused on outdoor walking, strength, balance and confidence-building.
Initially, John lacked confidence, had poor balance and relied on a walking frame or walking sticks. He also found the exercise programme provided by community services overwhelming, so together we reduced this to a smaller number of achievable exercises that better suited his goals.
Over the course of the intervention, John made excellent progress. His confidence, balance and mobility improved significantly, enabling him to mobilise independently indoors and use walking sticks only when outdoors. He gradually took on more household tasks, including making drinks, cleaning surfaces and gardening, which improved his sense of wellbeing and purpose.
Walking distances increased week by week, and his stamina improved to the point where he no longer needed to stop and rest. With support from his family, he achieved a meaningful personal goal of walking to the local shop to buy a newspaper, representing a significant step towards regaining his independence.
When reflecting on the support received by M2I…
“You’re encouraging. The exercises you’re supporting me with are helping big time. I wouldn’t be so motivated to do them if you didn’t come!”
When talking about going for a walk for the first time, John says
“I never expected to go outside that quickly. You triggered something in me. I thought, if you’ve got confidence in me going outside, I can do other things, hence the stairs - I had confidence to go up and down the stairs”.
Going forward John says
I want to get stronger and I’ll give it a good go every day. There are things I enjoy that I can’t do just yet, like cleaning the car and mowing the lawn. But I’m going to work towards this. Thanks so much for what you’ve done.”