Peter’s story

Peter Willett  from Shepperton, received treatment for a series of tumours in his spinal cord.

Peter shared his experience with us:

The tumours, chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment had a dramatic impact upon his life, seeing him, confined to a wheelchair with limited movement and the need for sliding boards to move from the wheelchair to a bed or treatment table.

‘A couple of years ago, I was suffering from back pain and decided to visit an osteopath for treatment. The osteopath advised that I visit my GP who in turn referred me to a consultant. The consultant discovered a series of tumours on my spinal cord. A large tumour was putting pressure onto my vertebrae. My surgeon removed the tumour and I received chemotherapy and radiotherapy to treat the smaller ones.

‘A referral from the head physiotherapist at my hospital to Liza Robinson at Princess Alice Hospice made all the difference. She started to, slowly but surely improve the quality of my life. Over 11 months, Liza enabled me to go from a wheelchair to walking unaided at home and with a stick when walking up and down stairs. She knew exactly what she had to do to improve my mobility. Throughout I had complete faith in her judgment and professionalism. She was easy to talk to, caring and knowledgeable.

‘Liza got me to where I am today. Not only did she help me, but she also gave my wife more time to herself. As I improved, I relied less on my wife, therefore she had greater freedom and we could spend more time doing fun things as husband and wife rather than simply being patient and carer. Liza has given me back part of the life I knew before my illness came along.’