Success Stories

When we first met Margaret, you could tell she was someone who has always embraced staying active her whole life. She did yoga for many years and bush walked most of her of life. When we met Margaret, she was having issues with her knee and was starting to become unsteady on her feet. She was using a single walking stick at this stage but we advised her to use 2 walking sticks and she was unstoppable once she started using 2 walking sticks. Her confidence to walk increased because she got the support from using an extra walking stick, and also her knee pain reduced as the weight through her knee was offloaded.

Margaret then decided with this new found confidence that she wanted to go bush walking again and to go walking along the beach to be able to swim in the water. At the age of 89, some people would have thought we were crazy to agree on these goals with Margaret but we knew she was determined and motivated.

It did not take long at all for Margaret to achieve her goals, and soon we were going for 40-minute bush walks every week and she was going to the beach to swim in the ocean with her carer. As Margaret would always say on her bush walks ‘it is the best tonic’ to be out in the bush and be walking amongst the trees.

Margaret is a true example of how important it is to continue to set yourself goals no matter what age you are and to continue to enjoy the things in life which give you happiness.

Helen has been with us for almost a year now. She came to us following a fracture in her lower back with associated nerve pain which resulted in need of a surgery and a period of rehabilitation. She had considerable pain in her left leg and was unable to walk more than 50m with her 4 wheel walker due to her pain limitations. Helen was extremely diligent with her home exercises and was determined to get herself moving again.

Helen is now currently walking independently with no aid or a walking stick around her apartment. She takes herself for long walks to the shops with her walker, or regularly goes out with her son using only her walking stick. Helen is currently on a much deserved holiday with her son and had big plans of getting herself in the swimming pool to continue with her exercise program even whilst away. She remains highly motivated and always has a big smile on her face during her sessions with us. She still has goals she would like to achieve and plans to be able to walk without any aids in the community.

Helen has been an absolute pleasure to work with and we are so happy seeing the progress she has made, along with the positive impact it has had on her life.

Imelda stands at a little less than 5 foot tall but we believe she is mighty and brave.  At the end of last year Imelda was looking forward to spending time with her family over Christmas and her 98th birthday in January.  Then she got the shocking news that her surgeon wanted to amputate her little finger.  Imelda wasn’t thrilled, but in her fighting spirit, she took it in her stride.  She is back at home and enthusiastically attends her physio sessions after spending some time in rehabilitation hospital.

Imelda had a large family, she had four boys and one girl.  She had always wanted  lots of children, but didn’t think through all the washing.  At one stage she had 3 babies under 2.5 years old.  This was before automatic washing machines, so Imelda had to lift the wet clothes from a washer into a wringer …. 3 babies is a lot of nappies! Imelda also had to be creative having 5 active kids that liked to go into the creek at the bottom of their house.  They didn’t hear her calling out to them for meals, so she bought herself a large bell to ring and summon them in for meals. The sound of the bell was known through the neighborhood for her kids to come home for lunch.

Imelda enjoys outdoor walking with her physio and doing strength training and balance exercises.  She is always a pleasure to go and see.  We think Imelda embodies our values as she Moves Well to Live Well

Ivan and his beautiful wife Beth have always had an adventurous spirit.  In 1960, they bought a brand new blue VW Beetle while on honeymoon in London.  Ivan and Beth allotted one pound per day and took their blue Beetle around Europe, through Portugal, Spain and France, then on to Yugoslavia.  From there they continued through the Middle East to India.  They finished their trip in Calcutta and shipped their blue Beetle home to New Zealand and gave it to Ivan’s parents.  The blue beetle then became a police car for Ivan’s dad, a local policeman in Levin on New Zealand’s North Island.

But that wasn’t the end of the road for the blue Beetle.  In 1996, Ivan and Beth now in their 60’s drove the beetle from London to India… with a bit more than one pound a day.  Ivan co-authored a book about the two trips called, “For Love and a Beetle”  Ivan writes about his experiences on both journeys, highlighting the political, cultural and social changes, the impact of tourism and technology, and the differences in both himself and Beth individually and as a couple that occurred in the 35 years between the two trips.

Today, Ivan and Beth celebrate their wedding anniversary towards the end of each year with a big community party at the Balmoral Rotunda, where everyone is welcome.  The couple provide free ice-creams, a sausage sizzle, marching girls and the NSW Fire and Rescue Band.

Ivan, with his friendly and sociable personality, loves to be visited by our physiotherapists and will even do his strength and balance training between stories.   He especially enjoys walking along the promenade at his beloved Balmoral chatting to all of his many friends.  We think Ivan embodies our values, as he Moves Well to Live Well

Margaret is part of a special club, that not many people reach….the triple digit club!!. She received a letter from the Queen a few years ago.  Margaret was a long term keen golfer and played until she was 99 yrs.  Even though she’s not playing now, she has many friends at the golf club and recently had lunch and afternoon tea for her 102nd birthday!!!

Margaret has a son who lives in Canada.  She worked as an assistant to an accountant for many years. Margaret has been a widow for over 70 years.  She joined the War Widows in the 1960’s and still attends their meetings.

Margaret walks with either a walking stick or no mobility aids.  She enjoys spending time in her garden and still bends over and pulls out weeds.  Margaret is very motivated in physiotherapy sessions to improve her exercise tolerance, mobility endurance, strength and balance.

We think Margaret embodies our company philosophy, she Moves Well to Live Well !!!

Gilly isn’t just a MoveWell 2 LiveWell client, she also features in a new campaign for the McGrath Foundation that launched on their website, was invited on a segment for Studio 10 on Channel 10 and has spoken to Asia-Pacific staff at pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.  There is a link on Gilly’s story below.

Gilly had a feeling that something wasn’t quite right.  Around the same time towards the end of last year, she had a fall and was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital.  During a routine scan looking for fractures from the fall, the radiologist discovered some metastatic tumours.  Further investigations revealed Gilly had an undetected breast cancer.  Gilly was understandably devastated by the news.   She has spent all of this year undergoing treatment for cancer.  But this hasn’t affected Gilly’s bright and bubbly personality, she is living with cancer with a resilience that we find admirable at MoveWell 2 LiveWell.

Gilly has had a varied life, she worked as a nurse, a flight attendant for Qantas and studied law.  Gilly loves to spend time with her family, particularly her 18-month granddaughter Asa, who loves to dress up like GanGan wearing pearls and the big glasses.  She gets a lot of support from children Nick and Tempe and daughter in law, Gratia.

During physiotherapy sessions, Gilly enjoys outdoor mobility, plus strength and balance training to keep her condition optimal.  She has a goal to stay optimally functional during her cancer treatment.

From MoveWell 2 LiveWell we would like to extend our thanks to the breast care nurses at the McGrath Foundation, who provide emotional, physical and psychological support to the men and women going through what is often the most difficult time in someone’s life.

We think Gilly embodies our company philosophy, she Moves Well to Live Well !!!

Jeanette’s Success Stories is one of survival and the human spirit of recovery.  She spent 8 months in hospital after complications following spinal surgery.  But that hasn’t stopped her, she has 2 physio sessions a week to focus on strength,  balance and outdoor mobility.  She was a nurse before she had her 3 boys and worked at St Vincent de Paul as they got older.  She nursed in the country which meant that sometimes her patients were animals and not humans.  In the country, they make them tough.

Jeanette likes to spend time with her supportive husband, John.  The strength and mobility training she has gained in her physio sessions means they can enjoy going out for lunch several times a week.  She also loves spending time with her 2 granddaughters, who recently came home from Hong Kong last year after a numbers of years away.   Plus it is a bonus to be visited by her grand-dogs, one a former racing greyhound with a particularly sweet disposition.

Margaret has been a part of our MoveWell 2 LiveWell family for over 5 years now!
Margaret and her husband Setrak, both descend from Armenian backgrounds and are extremely proud of their country’s culture and history.

Margaret has had MS (multiple sclerosis) for over 30 years. She works hard each an every day, fighting against her disease.

Margaret is an inspiration to all those around her, she selflessly continues to put others above herself and mentors women suffering from MS in her spare time.
She is also a devote Christian, a member in the Armenian church community and attends multiple Bible Study groups throughout the week.

WOW! What an amazing woman!

Every session is an inspiration working with Margaret and we look forward to continuing our ongoing work together.

Jill is one of our lovely clients who we have been seeing for over a year now. She lives with her husband Peter who are both always happy to see our physiotherapists. Jill has a strong passion for her garden and loves to spend hours in the sunshine tending to her plants and keeping the weeds at bay. She also loves being in the kitchen and has her family and friends clamouring for her Christmas fruitcake and rocky road recipes.

Jill has shown some remarkable perseverance through numerous surgeries and is forever determined to remain active. She is very ably helped by Peter who takes her on daily walks to keep her spirits up and exercise levels high. Jill is always raring to go for her exercise sessions whether it be taking an outdoor walk through the garden or challenging herself with a new balance exercise to show her improvement. We are very pleased with the progress Jill has made in her time with us and her lovely spirit makes our sessions together a highlight of the week.

We’re very much looking forward to continuing our work with Jill through 2023 and to see what new advancements she can make.