Headway Cambridgeshire writes:
Road to Recovery
Imagine being told that you will never walk again. Perhaps you’ve been involved in a traffic accident, or had a stroke, and finally you’re about to be discharged from hospital. You have paralysis on one side of your body; you’re able to stand in the physio gym, but otherwise you’re getting around by wheelchair. It’s been a long hard journey this far, and you know there’s still a long way to go. For many of the people that come to our rehab gym in Fulbourn, this is exactly how they feel. They have had a certain amount of physio from the NHS, but this is time-limited. Naturally they are disappointed when it comes to an end.
Headway Cambridgeshire is one of the few places where people can continue to come, long-term, and make slow and steady progress to their health and fitness. We told you Liam’s Story; for another of our gym users, Lesley, it’s made such a difference that she made the news!
Steps to a Brighter Mood
As you can imagine, having access to a space like our gym means a lot, and makes a big difference: “Coming to the gym at Headway stopped me feeling depressed.” In a recent survey, it was clear that our gym instructor, Veer, was the star attraction; “Veer is absolutely brilliant, he’s helped me so much”. Veer provides support with focused exercise that just isn’t available elsewhere. In our survey, 16 out of 20 respondents stated that they don’t access a gym because of lack of transport, the expense, or because their local gym couldn’t provide the level of support they need; eight out of 20 only exercise at Headway and nowhere else.
We’re doing great work with what we have. However, our equipment needs some work! Our gym users would like to see a wider range of equipment, especially strength equipment, that meets their mobility needs; 14 out of 20 stated this is a priority!
The great news is that we are well on the way to securing the money we need to make improvements to the equipment, and now you can help!
Help Us Get our Gym Fit for Fitness!
We have been shortlisted for the Lloyds Community Awards, great news because we are already guaranteed to receive £500 – and with your help, we can make it more! Vote now online or by text – and the more votes we gain, the more likely we are to increase our award to £1000, £2000 or even £3000!
All of the money we raise will be used to improve the equipment in the gym, starting with the Concept2 Rower. This comes in at £1500 – so your votes could make all the difference!
Voting closes on Monday 10 October 2014, so there’s not much time left – please vote now! You can vote by:
- Text
- All of the above!
Please vote now! Thank you to all our Supporters!
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