63-year-old John Wigley, stepped back from his role as Global project Director at AT&T, to enjoy quality time with his wife and family. Retirement plans were quickly put on hold however when John was diagnosed with a large left frontal lesion within the brain following some episodes of slurred speech.
What followed next turned John and his wife Karen’s world upside down. During surgery for the lesion, John suffered a post-operative haematoma (bleed) which required further surgery. He also suffered a C5 avulsion fracture at C5-6 discitis thought to be secondary to intubation, which resulted in lower limb weakness and subsequent immobility. John also had issues with breathing and required a tracheostomy.
After 12 months receiving care in hospital (acute and inpatient) John was ready for an extended rehabilitation programme in a community setting. Karen was determined to find a service that could meet John’s needs and where he had the best chance of recovery.
When John joined The Dean Neurological Centre in Gloucester, he was immobile and breathing through a tracheostomy. Over the next 11 months, John made remarkable progress regaining mobility and breathing independently without the tracheostomy. On the day of his discharge from The Dean, John walked proudly out the door using a wheeled zimmer frame, with his wife by his side, looking ahead once more to their retirement together. This is John’s incredible story of rehabilitation told by his wife, Karen.
“When John needed to find a community rehabilitation setting, I researched all neurological rehabilitation centres around here and I feel very lucky to have found The Dean. There’s nothing close to where we live, The Dean is about 50 miles from us, but it is worth the trip. I went five times a week and even though the miles do add up, I wouldn’t have wanted John to be anywhere else.
“I went to visit the service for the first time with John’s brother and we were both very impressed with the facilities, the atmosphere and the team. It’s an amazing service and I felt from early on that they could help John, who when he arrived with them couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe on his own and needed lots of support.
“Right from the start they cared for him holistically and thought about him as a person. For example, John was on insulin for his diabetes but after reviewing him, they lowered that because they felt he was over-medicated. They took the time to look at everything. I never gave up hope for John, but what he has achieved was actually so much more that I could’ve hoped for.
“John walked for the first time on the parallel bars on 31st October 2023. I wasn’t there but Susan (Service Director) sent me a video of him doing it and it was so incredible to see! I was so proud and to have it captured on video was very special – how many places would do that for you? Not many I would imagine…
“As a family we are welcomed and included in John’s care. We were involved in the formation of his care plan; it was updated regularly and that was always communicated with us. Our family were enabled to visit whatever the time of day. Our son is currently serving in the military and so sometimes he would need to visit outside ‘normal hours’, perhaps later in the evening, and that was never a problem.
“We have a young grandson who came to visit and spend time with John. This was particularly lovely because John hadn’t been able to see him when he was in hospital, so for them to start building their relationship together was wonderful.
“Every part of John’s rehabilitation programme was tailored to his individual needs, even organising trips out to the pub for him, trying to help him return to normal as much as possible. I can’t speak highly enough of the team at The Dean. Everyone, from the HCAs to the Nurses and Speech and Language Therapists understood John and his needs, they all bonded and he was happy in their care.
“John was supported by lots of different professionals. For example, he made great progress with his speech and language therapy and went from level 5 to eating normal foods again. They made all of his food freshly for him onsite. The consultants and specialists we saw were amazing, they never placed limitations on John’s recovery and always looked to see what could be possible for him, rather than just saying, ‘you’ll be like this for life’, which is what we had been told before we came to The Dean.
“John walked out of The Dean using a frame on April 5th, which was my birthday. It felt tremendous and it was incredibly emotional. The staff all congregated to see John off, and they were emotional too, that shows you just how much they care.
“If there are other families that are considering The Dean for their loved one, then I would say go and visit, have a look around the facilities and meet the team. It has a wonderful friendly atmosphere, and you’ll know right away whether it is right for your loved one.
“And if you are struggling like we were when I was looking for somewhere for John, then never lose sight of hope. With the right support and rehabilitation, you can make it through and you can get back some of things that you’ve lost.
“John’s made so much progress and we’re now looking forward to going on holiday together. We’ll go somewhere more local first, perhaps down to Devon or Cornwall and walk with the dogs on the beach. But our aim is to go back to our holiday home in Florida, we’re working towards that goal.”
A message from John
“Thank you to everybody at the Dean for ‘developing me’ to how I am now. I went from not being able to do anything, to being able to do everything again! My attitude is ‘never say never’ and although it looked impossible to come back from what happened to me, we managed to beat the odds!
“I was looked after incredibly well, the team are very professional and always considering what you need. To them, you’re not just a person lying in a bed, you really matter as a person.”
Make An Enquiry
If you’d like to make a referral then please get in touch with us.
You can also visit each service’s profile page to find out more about what our EveryExpert approach to care looks like in practice:
Adderley Green, Staffordshire
Badby Park, Northamptonshire
Garden & Jacobs, Hertfordshire
St Neots, Cambridgeshire
Stanley House, Herefordshire
The Avalon Centre, Wiltshire
The Bridge, Middlesbrough, Wiltshire
The Dean, Gloucestershire
