Client Stories

Janine works with him to help develop the skills he needs to live an independent life. In recent years he has gained organisational skills and has a hand in some of his own affairs, such as managing his own bank account, planning weekends away, and taking a role in shift planning his own care team.

Ellis has always been outgoing and sociable but is now also focusing on extending the level of independence he has over his own affairs “Ellis’s sociability has been a constant, but in the past two years he has really developed his organisational skills,” reveals Janine.

To Ellis, Janine is more than just a case manager. “We can talk about anything,” he says.

Ellis lives a full life and never lets the fact that he has cerebral palsy hold him back. He loves going to the pub, socialising with friends and family, going on holiday and watching football and rugby. In recent years he has set exciting, ambitious goals and achieved them with Janine’s support, such as attending and camping at music festivals and staying in London for the Remembrance Sunday parade in London.

“I'd like to thank Janine and my carers for getting me to this stage.” – Ellis

"I'm never surprised by anything that Ellis does, however, I am absolutely thrilled by what he's achieved." – Janine

Ellis is now busy saving towards a new power chair “one that won’t breakdown when I go camping in fields!” and has developed career aspirations to join the army or design powerchairs.

Watch Ellis' Case Study to find out more about him and his experience with ILS Case Management:

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Catherine Williams has worked with Saeed and his family since he was eight. She started as his occupational therapist, and when his legal case settled, was assigned as his Case Manager.

Saeed’s case management support from ILS has embraced all manner of things for him and his family. When Saeed was 16, Catherine encouraged him to set his own goals for his ongoing rehabilitation progression. This helped him to identify a number of enjoyable leisure activities that he could become involved in, including cricket and pursuing his love of cooking.

As Saeed has grown into adulthood, Catherine has helped to support him and his family through his transition between educational facilities, providing housing adaptations to his family home enabling him to be more independent, and the recruitment of support workers to facilitate his on-going rehabilitation. Recruitment of the right support workers has been essential to Saeed’s recovery and development. Saeed also has a very close link with his Physiotherapist, who has been pivotal in promoting his fitness, wellbeing and outdoor interests.

Saeed attended the National Star College, an Ofsted-outstanding specialist college and charitable organisation which works to support the ambitions of young people with disabilities. The NSC played an inspirational role in Saeed’s development. Saeed’s passion and skill for cricket has reached an impressive level, and he plays for the Gloucestershire disabled cricket team, a truly phenomenal achievement. The NSC covered this in their news page here.

Saeed went on to complete his final year at College, studying Employability Skills and securing a part-time volunteer position in a local National Trust café. He also volunteers in the café at Gympanzees, a charity promoting inclusive physical activity for children and young people in Bristol.

Saeed has a full diary, with his support workers enabling him to attend sports clubs, successfully complete his work placements, expand his functional maths and literacy skills and develop his independent living skills further.

Saeed’s future plans are to develop his involvement in the catering business and to live with support in his own home. Enabling Saeed to make choices and decisions about his life continues to be the emphasis for the person-centred planning approach used in ILS Case Management.

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Jamie was one of ILS’s first clients, and Karenmarie, now one of our directors, began his occupational therapy in 1999; initiating case management shortly after.

Since his accident, Jamie was in and out of hospital and undergoing rehabilitation for approximately ten years. Now over 30 years old, he still requires twenty four hour care and support, and uses a powered wheelchair both indoors and out.

In 2011 Eliot was assigned as Jamie’s case manager and Eliot has supported Jamie and his family in numerous ways. This includes supporting his transition through educational facilities, recruiting and supervising the right support workers to aid his rehabilitation, and choosing suitable vehicles that can be adapted for Jamie’s wheelchair. Jamie now has one main carer between the hours of 9:00am-5:00pm which provides his mum, Lucy, some respite from his everyday care – a support that is highly valued by the whole family. Jamie also has a physiotherapist and occupational therapist to continue his multi-disciplinary therapy. Alongside this, he is encouraged to do recommended stretching exercises, and uses his standing frame at home.

"It is a real privilege to work with Jamie and his family to help them work towards their goals. We learn and grow together" - Eliot Lamb

He works closely with a neurologist which has meant that his epilepsy is almost completely under control. Eliot also arranges bi-annual team meetings for Jamie, his family and his support workers to get together, review Jamie’s progress from the past six months, and set goals for the next.

"ILS helped us through some of our most difficult times" - Lucy, Jamie's mum

Eliot introduced Jamie to Disability Initiative, a

a charity offering activity-based opportunities to people with disabilities. To date, Jamie has taken-part in cooking, sewing and ceramics – a very good match for Jamie who is particularly creative. He has also developed a passion for boxing and attends the centre's regular training sessions which have helped to build his core strength and stamina in an exciting and stimulating environment.

In his spare time, Jamie has been companion-cycling with his support-worker, enjoys going out for meals, and loves to play board games with his family and support worker.

"Feels like we have our own personal emergency service, my case manager is always there to help" - Jamie

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While in the rehabilitation unit of Amersham Hospital ILS Professional Mentor, Tim Gilbert, visited Emily to make an initial assessment of her needs. At this stage Emily was in a wheelchair as she was unable to walk and one of her first goals was to be able to walk her dogs. Emily has a goat, donkeys, chickens and cats as well as her dogs at home and cites her love of animals as a big part of her rehabilitation journey. On returning home she recalls how her Dad would push her along in her wheelchair when they first took the dogs out. But through her rehabilitation Emily is now able to walk at least 5 miles which, as she says, is handy as it’s far enough to get to the local pub and back!

Emily has also reignited her love of art through the rehabilitation art therapy sessions she has been undertaking and has been channelling this passion into making and selling cards to raise money for the NHS and the HEMS who Emily credits with helping to save her life.

In early 2019, Catherine was assigned as Emily’s Case Manager and has been continuing to support Emily in defining her goals. This includes returning part-time to the job role she had before her accident. Emily recalls: “It was really nice to meet Catherine and meet someone who actually could understand me. [Because] she’s got a physiotherapy background it was very helpful in that respect.”

And it isn’t just Emily who appreciates the support that Catherine has been able to provide.

Emily’s Mum, Ann said “I was very relieved when Catherine came on board and it was a great help because she was able to come with us to view all the different rehab centres.”

With her rehabilitation going so well, Emily has also been exploring new career opportunities for the future. Having worked for a Superfoods company prior to the accident, Emily was aware of the connection between the gut and the brain and wants to pursue her interest in nutrition further. She is considering undertaking a university degree to advance this interest with a view to becoming a qualified nutritionist. Her love of baking has been a constant throughout and she is still keen, despite having lost her sense of smell and taste as a result of the accident.

Another result of the brain injury is a condition known as pseudobulbar affect (PBA), which is a condition whereby sufferers exhibit episodes of sudden uncontrollable and inappropriate laughing or crying. In Emily’s case she will laugh or giggle even when she hears something sad. Emily describes it as “emotional incontinence” but is learning to deal with it and tells people she meets that she has it when she meets them so that they understand. Despite the potential for some awkward situations, her mum, Ann, explains that the upside is that something the family finds funny will be absolutely hilarious to Emily which in turn brings more laughter into the house.

Emily’s strength is improving all the time and as she continues to gain control of her body, she is now re-learning how to drive. While her choice of vehicle would is not a typical learner car, the large pickup truck is the one she is most familiar with as she used to drive it to and from the local railway station before the accident. She admits to the occasional “incident” such as almost bumping the family barn recently! However, she continues to make great progress and hopes to be able to drive on the road again soon following an obligatory driving assessment.

“As with anything in recovery, the more you do it, the better you get at it” - Emily

Emily’s case manager has been amazed by her progress, stating “I remember coming to visit Emily just as I was about to take over [her] case from Tim, and physically [she] was in such a different position to what [she] is now… [She’s] achieved so much”.

Catherine continues to support Emily with her future goals which include moving out of the family home and living independently which is something Emily is hoping to do in the new year. With such a positive outlook on life and family, friends and her case manager beside her, we look forward to following Emily’s future achievements.

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