“I love skiing – it gives a feeling of freedom”: helping Duncan regain meaningful skills

At Brainkind, we strive to help the people we support work towards the goals that are most important to them, within their care and rehabilitation.

For many people, this includes a focus on regaining skills they had before a brain injury – and enabling them to take part in activities they love.

Duncan, who we have been supporting at Eastfields, our neurological centre in Glasgow, was a keen skier from a young age. Shortly before he experienced a brain injury, he had switched to snowboarding.

At Eastfields, the team have been working with him to help him get back to skiing, which he had loved so much. Rachael Moore, Senior Specialist Physiotherapist, told us more.

“To start with, he did this with the support of his mum and his sister, with a lesson to refamiliarise himself with previous skills.

“He said it was ‘like riding a bike’ – with those skill sets remaining intact.”

Duncan wanted to continue exploring these skills, saying: “It is good for the brain and releases good endorphins.”

Rachael continued: “I have since supported him to a local dry slope, and have set a goal to either support this, or a long bike ride (which he also really enjoys) every six weeks, for really meaningful physical activity.

“Duncan does have some physical impairments but has overcome these fantastically and continues to live an active lifestyle.

We are delighted to support Duncan to take part in an activity that means so much to him. As he says himself about skiing: “It can make a huge change to your day.”

At Brainkind, we’re committed to helping people with neurological conditions or brain injuries to work towards achieving their goals.

If you’d like to find out more about our person-centred care and rehabilitation, or to refer someone to one of our services, click here.