NEW FACES!
As we progress our plans to expand access to therapies throughout the Midlands for people living with MD, we are pleased to welcome two new Physiotherapists to our team.
Daniel Foley and Kelly Garret-Kirk will be working closely with our established team over the coming weeks and we can’t wait for you to meet them!
Here’s a little bit about them, in their own words:
DAN:
“I qualified as a physiotherapist in 2016 and since, have had a wide range of experience, beginning my career in the private neuro physio world working with traumatic and acquired brain injuries as well as stroke rehabilitation, MS and Alzheimer’s. I then completed my physio rotations at South Warwickshire NHS trust. Following that, I transferred into the private MSK Physiotherapy sector working with professional athletes of all ages as well as injury rehabilitation and spinal rehab.
Although to date I have had a short career, it has been extremely varied and I believe this has given me a greater insight into the type of physio I want to be. I have always been interested in the combined worlds of neurology and musculoskeletal rehab. MDSC is a special place that I feel very proud to be a new part of, the ethos of the charity and the focus on service users and their individual needs is what led me to want to be a part of this ever-growing fantastic service and I look forward to what the future brings and what I can bring to our service provision.
In my spare time, I enjoy long walks with my wife, 3 children and Labrador Marley around Arrow Valley Lakes, the Lickey Hills and Cannon Hill park. I play football regularly and have a passion for woodwork and “very basic” carpentry.”
KELLY:
“I studied my Physiotherapy degree in Manchester, since qualifying in 2014 I have always worked with adults and children with neurological conditions including muscular dystrophies in acute and community settings. I continue to work part time in an NHS community paediatric physiotherapy team. I have lot’s of experience in promoting people’s independence through creative problem solving and enhancing movement through hands on techniques. I have a particular interest in managing spasticity and biomechanical changes that occur in the body due to weak or tight muscles. Most of all I love working with people of all ages, hearing the stories they share, and doing the absolute best that I can for them through my physiotherapy assessment and treatment skills. I find physiotherapy work very rewarding and I’m very pleased to have been given the opportunity to join the MD support centre team.
I love the outdoors, and I frequently walk my dog and my husband in the countryside at the weekends. I also enjoy attending live music events, the cinema and gardening.”
RECENT PHYSIO NEWS:
At the MD Support Centre, our therapy team undertake regular professional development, with a continual approach to updating and expanding their knowledge, in addition to the highly skilled work they do day-to-day with our service users.
MDSC Physiotherapists Lynn Ward and Ulrike Uta recently attended an online masterclass designed to educate multidisciplinary healthcare professionals in the diagnosis, management, and care of patients with Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy (LGMD)
The event featured a mix of speaker lectures and interactive workshops with opportunities for Q&A throughout.
Lynn and Ulrike were able to share their own first-hand knowledge and experience in these group discussions, as well as taking learns from the course from peers which they bring back to their practice at MDSC.
“It was a fascinating couple of days that covered a huge amount of content to take on board! Highlighting the relatively newer format of classifying different types of LGMD together with their different characteristics, the process of diagnosis (which for some, as we see with our own SU’s is not always straight forward), the importance and relevance of respiratory and cardiac monitoring and the opportunity to discuss case studies amongst therapists. It is interesting to hear of other centre’s success’, for example with specific ankle splints or shoulder supports. Ulrike and I look forward to being able to bring some of these ideas back to MDSC to explore with relevant service users.”
Physiotherapists Ulrike and Siobhan also recently attended a course held by the British Myology Society, Managing Neuromuscular Diseases. This course looked at a range of topic included setting up new services, methods of assessment for specific types of MD and much more.
We are proud of the skills and experience our therapy team bring to their work and pleased to share details of the knowledge sharing and learning they engage in, with you our service users.
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