Neil Stone writes about how coming to Thrive helped him following his stroke.
There I was a 52-year-old married man living a comfortable life as a sales director within a growing company driving to work along the M4 on the bright, warm morning of June 5, 2008, when suddenly events that changed my life in kicked in. I had a stroke, although I did not know it was a stroke until later that day.
After three months of incarceration within NHS hospitals I was let free on the world again to continue my life. However, what the NHS did not take into consideration was that I had no movement or control of my left hand and still could not walk properly on my left leg.
Although the wish was great to return to work, the reality was months of sitting indoors trying to pass the time of day which did little to improve my condition.
It was time for a more positive attitude which was the filling of my days with more constructive outlets. Thrive was a name I had heard mentioned on a couple of different occasions and I decided to find out more about it. After talking with Wokingham District Council they recommended and paid for me to attend Thrive’s garden just outside Reading once a week on a Wednesday starting in October 2008.
From having no knowledge and no interest in gardening I very quickly became hooked on the gardening bug due to the varied, detailed and interesting information relayed to me by the patient, qualified staff at Thrive. My enthusiasm for all things horticultural increased once I attended one of the 'off site’ activities at The Vyne in Basingstoke, which is a walled vegetable garden within the grounds of a National Trust estate.
The walled garden is a beautiful, serene location, conducive to a relaxed enjoyable environment. The structure of the day at The Vyne is centred on the time and season of the year which dictates the gardening activity, whether planting or harvesting.
Planting is a series of exercises in attention to the ground, ie weeding, turning over, mulching, fertilizing before sowing of seeds or planting of bulbs etc.
After many weeks of loving attention to the beds, my favourite time of the year comes round which is harvesting time. This is when you get to see the fruits of your hard work that has been put in during the previous weeks.
The harvesting also gives a great sense of achievement and satisfaction as the majority of vegetables harvested are sold back to the restaurant of The Vyne. Any vegetables not required are taken back to Trunkwell where they are offered to clients to take home. The satisfaction and benefits of eating home grown foods are well documented.
Other benefits to working at Thrive are the meeting and mixing with other clients who have varied and different personal problems which they have to resolve in their own approach to working in the gardening environment.
Working outside in the fresh air also gives a feeling of well being and there is nothing nicer than having the heat of the afternoon sun on your back when you are gardening.
Since attending Thrive I feel I have benefited physically in gaining strength in my left leg and arm and manage to use my left hand for various activities.
I feel I have formed compassionate and understanding relationships with several of the other clients and have a very good understanding of the requirements of the therapists which in turn has led to a mutual appreciation of abilities and talents culminating in my agreement to assist as a volunteer to one of the therapists in running weekly stroke sessions in the community.
Read about how Thirve is helping to support Stroke survivors