Close to people | Stories from Bethel
She has fought her way back
Susanne Boestfleisch resolutely grips the handles of her rollator, looks up briefly and quickly makes her way with her walking frame to the communal kitchen at Bethel's Grünrockstraße home in Hagen. The fact that the 59-year-old is able to walk upright again and cook for herself is nothing short of a miracle after her stroke of fate over eleven years ago.
At the time, the respected employee of a law firm was in the middle of her life when she suffered a severe stroke while on holiday and her brain subsequently lost contact with the right side of her body. After a short stay in a retirement home, she was admitted to the Bethel centre for people with acquired brain injuries in 2013. Thanks to a high level of donations from her employer, friends and family, Susanne Boestfleisch was able to travel to the Ambulanticum Herdecke several times a week for two years and benefit from state-of-the-art therapy options there. With the help of the robot-assisted gait trainer, she learnt to walk again - and has fought her way back into life in an impressive way.
With many hours of speech therapy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy, good support and an irrepressible will, the patient has shown what is possible despite a severe stroke: "The progress she has made is extraordinary, I've never seen a client do that before," says the head of the house Karsten Raue, who is impressed. "We used to have big problems understanding her. Now she can not only walk better, but also talks a lot more, so we can understand what she wants better," adds carer Nadia El Hachimi.
Susanne Boestfleisch now lives a fairly independent life again and no longer needs support for many things: "She showers independently and knows exactly when she needs to take which medication," explains Nadia El Hachimi. "And if Susanne wants new bed linen or shoes, she chooses them online and we just help her with the purchase process."
In addition to the empathetic staff, the wide range of programmes on offer at Grünrockstraße also contributed to her rehabilitation. When Susanne Boestfleisch is feeling well, she takes part in the day-structuring programmes at the home almost every day. She particularly enjoys expressing her creativity in the painting and drawing courses. The client then hangs most of the results of her artistic talent in her room. Right next to her pictures are often objects from her second great passion: animals - sometimes as motifs on the calendar, sometimes in the form of a wooden zebra on the sideboard or as a Gekko model on the wall.
Susanne Boestfleisch can count on two great supporters for her rehabilitation: her two friends, who have supported her over the years and visit her several times a month. They go to the ice cream parlour together, play their favourite game "Rummikub" or simply sit together over a freshly brewed coffee.
And when Susanne Boestfleisch takes time for herself, she likes to put on one of her CDs by Udo Lindenberg, Pur or Silbermond, close her eyes and press "play" with relish. Thoughts off, music on.
Text: Simon Steinberg | Picture: Thorsten Ulonska
This story simply told
Susanne Boestfleisch suffered a severe stroke. Her brain was damaged as a result. Since 2013, she has been living in a Bethel centre for people with acquired brain damage in Hagen. She has made great progress with physiotherapy and speech therapy. Susanne Boestfleisch feels at home in the centre. She enjoys painting and playing.
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Contact
Bethel.regional
House Grünrockstraße
Grünrockstr. 6
58119 Hagen-Hohenlimburg
Offers & services
House Grünrockstraße supports adults with intellectual and complex disabilities, epilepsy and acquired brain damage. In addition to assistance and support, the programme also includes practical life training, day and leisure activities. The centre offers individual living space for 24 people.
