Welcome to the North East Pace Rehabilitation

 A few weeks ago my good friend Scott Richardson who is the P.R Guru at Pace Rehabilitation informed me that they were going to be having an open evening at the Lombard Physiotherapy Clinic, which is situated in West Moor, Newcastle and would I like to attend as a guest on behalf of Pace along with a few of my friends and my dad, Ern.

 "I would love to" I come from the North East, have attended the Lombard Physiotherapy Clinic attending appointments with Pace and Oh people seem to be quite impressed with what I get up too, having just took part in my first Triathlon with the support of Pace and a fantastic charity named Arctic ONE, who have been fund-raising to help get me a running prosthesis.

 Pace have been operating a satellite clinic at the Lombard Physiotherapy Clinic for a good few months now, visiting roughly once per month and inviting local clients along to have their Pace supplied prosthetic needs catered for a bit closer to home. Any machine fabrication still has to be done at their main clinics, however fittings and minor alterations can be looked at and in some cases this can save people a lot of time in travelling either down to Manchester or London where Pace's clinics are based.

I felt very honoured and privileged to be invited along. I always feel very proud to get the opportunity to represent Pace, as from early on they have supported me in my riding. My way of saying thank you is to offer feedback on certain prosthetic components, tell it how it is, do a spot of P.R now and again and  very much point out that Pace's ethos is so true, "Converting patients into people". To the evening. Everyone who came along appeared to be having a really enjoyable, informative and relaxed time. It was a great opportunity to network, make new acquaintances and for me to tell a little of my story of how I had gone from a position where I spent  years out of work through ill health, stuck in a type of limbo, then moved along to having my above knee amputation,  discovered Pace and in particular one of its prosthetists Jamie Gillespie and the rest well as they say is history.

As everyone chatted away there was the gentle tap of a glass to draw our attention and Toby Carlsson (one of the co-founders of Pace Rehabilitation) welcomed everyone and thanked them for coming along. Toby then went on to give a short introduction to both Pace and the Lombard Physiotherapy Clinic and  describing how they were working together and  what he would like to see in the future right here in the North East.

Toby then handed the floor over to me, which came as a bit of a surprise. I hadn't prepared anything, so had to ad-lib a bit.  In typical fashion, I just told it how it was from my point of view. And gave a little demonstration of the sporting prosthetic knee I am sponsored on, the Bartlett Tendon.

Toby described the part Pace has played/plays in my life as how did he put it?  "Adjusting a few grub screws and  maybe tweaking a hydraulic cylinder". Of course over the years they have done so much more than just tweak bits and bobs, they have given me  the tools to help grow in confidence, get on with my life and even get back to work.. So when ever I get the opportunity, I like to say a huge “Thank You”.

The evening went very well, and I was so thrilled some of my friends come could along to support me. Thanks ever so much to Ade for coming and taking some photos of the evening, and also to Al and Lee and Michelle. All of you have been a real driving force and a constant source of inspiration and strength. Then of course there is my dad Ern, everyone who meets him loves him and why not he is just such a superstar.

  Oh! And I can't very well end without saying thank you to Toby and Paul, my prosthetists from Pace Rehabilitation and to Tracy from the Lombard Physiotherapy Clinic, you all put on a fantastic night. Best wishes for success in the future.

 Here are a few more various shots of the evening. I'm pleased I had the opportunity to meet some very nice people, who will hopefully have taken away a very positive experience.  And also learnt a little more about future plans with regard to treatments, rehabilitation and some of the resources that are available within the North East through the  partnership of  Pace Rehabilitation and the Lombard Physiotherapy Clinic

  Oh! And I can't very well end without saying thank you to Toby and Paul, my prosthetists from Pace Rehabilitation and to Tracy from the Lombard Physiotherapy Clinic, you all put on a fantastic night and I wish you every success for in the future.