Getting back my independence
A nasty fall had severely dented 90-year-old Margery’s confidence and left her nervous of going out on her own.
Margery, who has arthritis in her hips and knees and is also partially sighted, had always been quite active. She suffered a bad fall however, when a heavy door caught her and she hit her head on the wall and broke her wrist.
Agewell started an exercise group at Braeburn Sheltered Housing and Margery decided to give it a go. She took part in the weekly sessions and was so impressed with the difference it made that she signed up for a further weekly class.
The initial assessment carried out by Agewell, compared with a second assessment undertaken 12 weeks later, revealed significant improvements in Margery’s general health and wellbeing (up 11%) and her confidence and balance (up 11%).
She says: “I find the exercise classes enormously beneficial. They really get you moving and they show you how you should be doing things to reduce your risk of over-balancing and falling. I really do feel I am starting to regain my confidence now. It’s a gradual process as I don’t walk very well at all, but I’ve been to the shops three times on my own now and each time gets a little easier. I even used the Ring and Ride service the other day.
“Being able to get out and about on my own is very important to me and Agewell has helped to give me back some of the independence I had lost.”