“I’d rather poke myself in the eyeball with a fork”

Mille* 76 is a card-carrying stright shooter. She has a kind heart, a razor-sharp mind and it’s fair to say she doesn’t suffer fools. She’s fabulous, but her knees are dodgy. And with clear-eyed pragmatism she had decided that I was the physio to rescue her.

I was in the middle of a long-winded description of an overly complicated exercise regime when Millie mercifully interrupted me to offer a piece of her wisdom. “I’d rather poke…” I stopped and reconsidered. I couldn’t just foist a group of exercises onto Millie without considering what her life was like and what she actually wanted to do, which happened to be spending several hours a day in her garden.

I had even tried calling the exercises ‘LMS’  (Lifestyle Management Strategies) which earned a predictable snort of derision and a barely concealed eye roll.

So we went back to basics. Together we worked out a plan I thought might help and that didn’t irritate her dodgy knees.

It took some time. After six weeks, Millie said it was only just starting to feel better. She gave me a hard look when I attempted a pep talk and asked me ‘HOW LONG?’. I replied that I thought 3-6 months was the probable time frame and I hoped she would see some change as she got stronger.

After three months she opened the Brightside door with a wide smile- ‘its working!’. The test we’d used was the three back steps down to her garden and last week she said ‘it was a painfree glorious moment!’.

I said ‘who would’ve thought… that physio actually works!’ with a sideways grin.

Which gave her a chance to airily reply: ‘well, certainly not me but I have been pleasantly surprised that you might know what you’re talking about’.

I’ve got the best job in the world.

To get your body back to where you want it, book now!