Beyond saving lives, restoring them

FOR patients of the University Hospital of the West Indies’ (UHWI) Physiotherapy Department, rehabilitation has meant more than recovering from injury or surgery; it marks the return of independence to their daily lives.

When Dr William Aiken took the stage during the department’s open day on Thursday in a leg cast supported by crutches, he showed up in the capacity of a patient, though he also bore the titles of consultant urologist and head of surgery at UHWI.

“On the 26th of July, I had a little tussle with a croaking lizard, and had severed my left Achilles tendon and had surgery on the 3rd of August to repair it. And as you would know, physiotherapy is a critical part of the rehabilitation process after undergoing an injury like that,” said Aiken, as he chuckled at his misfortune.