No one wants to hear that they aren’t going to recover from a grave illness. This was exactly what Rita Guthrie, a former laboratory chemist from Essex had to go through. Rita was given a mere 30% chance of survival after experiencing a Stroke in 2008. Rita could not walk, her behaviour slowly became erratic, and incontinence had set in.
Doctors from the National Health Services told Rita and her husband David, there was zero possibility of recovery for Rita and that she should consider moving to a nursing home. Following two years of intermittent medical care received from the NHS, as well as social services, Rita’s condition remained unaltered.
Things began to take a turn for the better when a friend recommended that the couple should try out a change in climate. David and Rita moved to a quaint locality named Fish Hoek in Cape Town, South Africa. In her new home, she underwent an intensive Rehabilitative regimen which included Hydrotherapy, walking, and a customised exercise routine. This went on for a period of 18 months.
Today, at a ripe 78 years of age, Rita is a mother of three children and has been given a clean bill of health. Her ordeal with stroke had only left her with minor damage to her short-term memory.
Rita has kept herself busy following her recovery. She authored a book entitled “Pushing the Boundaries”. Her goal is to give hope to Britons who are going through what she had experienced. In her book, she recommends her readers to pursue treatments outside Britain. According to Rita, the absence of practical help and support from the UK was the reason why she was diagnosed without any hope of recovery. Her book’s profits are all donated to charity organisations that are helping Stroke patients.
David also expressed his dismay regarding the local healthcare his wife received in the UK. He couldn’t help but compare the quality of care received with well-documented recommendations found in the UK’s National Stroke Strategy.
The disappointing level of treatment experienced by Rita in the UK was apparently, not an isolated incident. A survey conducted by the Stroke Association indicated that almost half of all stroke survivors felt abandoned as they left hospital care. The survey also found that a third of their 1000 respondents were sent home without a definite care plan or appropriate support. Figures that the organisation describes as ‘deeply concerning’.
Due to these realities, more patients of severe illnesses such as Stroke, have started to seek treatments outside of their countries’ established healthcare systems.
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H/T: Telegraph
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