\n Maureen Fitzpatrick, 90, who lives at Belong, began a life-changing journey after suffering a stroke that left her wheelchair-bound and unable to use her left hand.\n<\/p>\n
\n Through months of tailored exercise led by specialist Barbara Tait, she has regained mobility and now walks with a frame.\n<\/p>\n
\n Ms Tait, Belong\u2019s lead exercise specialist, said: “I\u2019m especially pleased to be returning to lead Belong\u2019s exercise department.\n<\/p>\n
\n “I believe in \u2013 and have seen many times over \u2013 the truly transformative power that exercise can have for older people.\n<\/p>\n
\n “In Maureen\u2019s case, without the service she would have digressed and most likely require two carers for 24-hour support.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Instead, she\u2019s maintaining a good level of independence.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Ms Fitzpatrick\u2019s progress is the result of a personalised exercise programme that included the use of an assisted bike, a stepper machine, and interactive cognitive games.\n<\/p>\n
\n The programme focused on strengthening her balance and coordination as part of Belong\u2019s holistic approach to care.\n<\/p>\n
\n Ms Fitzpatrick said: “Thanks to Barbara, joy has returned as I feel I\u2019ve got my life back.\n<\/p>\n
\n “On top of all the exercise, she\u2019s taught me about posture, hydration and breathing, and I value that she dignifies me and treats me as a person.\n<\/p>\n
\n “I\u2019m proud to have achieved what I have, and I\u2019ll keep it up to be able to hold my grandson when he is born later this year.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Belong\u2019s care model includes in-house gyms and a dedicated exercise specialist at each of its locations, including Belong Warrington.\n<\/p>\n
\n The service offers one-to-one and group fitness sessions designed to support mobility, improve wellbeing, and help residents maintain their independence.\n<\/p>\n
\n Ms Tait, who helped develop Belong\u2019s original fitness and wellbeing strategy 15 years ago, recently returned to the role after volunteering in disaster relief in her native South Africa.\n<\/p>\n
\n She now leads the not-for-profit care group\u2019s award-winning exercise programme for older adults.\n<\/p>\n
\n The scheme also connects residents with external services such as NHS health practitioners, physiotherapy and rehabilitation to ensure a joined-up approach to care.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maureen Fitzpatrick, 90, who lives at Belong, began a life-changing journey after suffering a stroke that left her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":193439,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[6647,102,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-193438","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=193438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/193439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=193438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=193438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}