Home-based rehabilitation helps Siddique walk again
Stories | June 9, 2023
Early in 2023, Siddique, a 61-year-old man living in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, suffered a stroke which left him with paralysis down the left side of his body and unable to walk and perform basic daily tasks.
Following his hospital treatment, Siddique was referred to a private clinic for rehabilitation. However, after only a few sessions, Siddique and his wife decided to leave – the clinic was too far away and they could no longer afford to attend, especially now that Siddique was unable to work.
Returning home, Siddique was bed bound and dependant on others for everything. His mental health began to suffer, and he and his wife started to worry about their future.
This was until they heard about rehabilitation services provided through a project supported by CBM.
Quickly, Siddique and his wife contacted the project partner for support, who then sent their home-based rehabilitation team to his home to assess his needs.
At the time of the assessment, Siddique was lying on his bed, had limited mobility, unable to talk properly, and was showing signs of distress.
Following the assessment, the rehabilitation team helped Siddique to perform therapeutic exercises and provided basic counselling. They also showed his wife how to support Siddique to continue performing the exercises at home so that over time he may be able to regain his mobility.
To help Siddique to be able to walk independently again, the rehabilitation team also advised the family to build parallel bars in the front of their home and provided technical support to do so.
In the weeks that followed, Siddique continued with his home-based rehabilitation program, doing daily exercises, and practicing standing and walking along the parallel bars.
And the great news is now Siddique can not only stand and walk with minimum support, but he is back doing daily tasks such as eating, bathing, and praying with ease and confidence. With this progress, his mental health has also improved. It is only a matter of time until he feels confident enough to start working again. Now, he and his wife are looking forward to a new future full of possibilities.
CBM Australia acknowledges the support of our implementing partner, the Centre for Disability in Development.
https://www.cbm.org.au/stories/home-based-rehabilitation-helps-siddique-walk-again
Related Stories
A Light of Hope
Content Warning: The story in this letter refers to suicide, which may be distressing for some readers. If you or someone you know is in need of support, please...
Small Business, Big Impact: supporting mental health in Indonesia
Work is a big part of our lives. Not...
A Resilient Woman
Margie, a mother of seven, is a daycare worker in a small coastal village in the Philippines. A few years ago, Margie was diagnosed with a mental health condition after...