NHS Bristol Royal Infirmary (Cardiac Unit)

The second physiotherapist I shadowed at the BRI worked in the Cardiac Unit of the hospital. Before we entered I was slightly nervous as I didn’t know what to expect. However we did not see any operations but instead went into the rehabilitation part of the Unit. This is where we met a patient who had undergone a  heart operation about a week ago, so you could clearly see the scar across her chest, and she seemed to be very weak. Firstly we had  to talk to her to wake her up a bit more and therefore increase her awareness.

She talked about how she loved to walk with her sons on the mountains and that she missed walking as these were her best memories. It was obvious that she was a very active person and she was becoming more and more frustrated about being unable to get out to bed. When she was asked how she felt she replied saying ‘never get old, it’s such a pain’. I felt an immediate reaction that we must get her back on her feet, and I wanted to help. The physiotherapist suggested we take her for her first walk after her operation, which she was nervous about. She found it extremely difficult to get out of bed and it was a very slow start. I was really intrigued to see how she would cope with walking for the first time.

Once we had helped her get on her feet she smiled, which was such an amazing thing to experience because it showed me how fundamentally important the work of a physiotherapist is - just being out of bed made her so much more happy. She walked very slowly down the corridor for about 50 meters and then she rested and we went back up. She was proud of herself but still frustrated because she wanted to recover more quickly, but the physio told her she would have to be patient as things like this take time. However when he told her she would be able to walk again with her sons she seemed completely reassured and when we left the room she seemed a dozen times happier than when we entered it.

I only played a tiny role in helping her and yet I experienced such a strong feeling that I had assisted in improving somebody’s life, which felt utterly rewarding. If I were to become a physiotherapist I could play a bigger role in situations such as these and therefore my ultimate goal is to help with the recovery and rehabilitation of as many people as I possibly can. I want to help someone like this every day because I feel that improving someone’s life is the most important thing. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to be involved in the hospital to gain such an understanding.