A man who previously spent over 100 days paralyzed in the hospital returns to the same wards – but this time with his pet dog to offer others hope.
The man, named Nigel Avery, used to be in intensive care at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital in Canterbury, England.
According to BBC, Avery “developed Guillain-Barre syndrome after a bout of Covid and he was put into a coma to help his body recover” and his family was informed to prepare for the worst.
Back then, the nursing staff at the hospital used to allow visits from Martha, Avery’s dog.
Avery used to be wheeled outside with his life-saving equipment where the staff would put dog treats in between his fingers and allow Martha to jump on his bed.
Sarah Gotke, the physiotherapist who helped Avery outside, said, “The first time Martha jumped on to his bed there were tears streaming down his face because he was so excited about seeing her.”
While Avery says he doesn’t remember Martha’s first visit to him in the hospital, each of the next three visits from Martha gave him the motivation to get better.
And today, Avery and Martha are back in the same hospital – but this time, with a purpose.
BBC reveals that both Avery and Martha have completed therapy dog training. And the pair now visits the Kent and Canterbury Hospital a few hours each week to provide others the same hope and motivation Martha provided Avery back then.
Avery said, “My aim was to come back and give something back to the place that helped me so much.”
“Martha’s visits gave me a little bit of light in moments of extreme darkness and I hope we can offer the same to other people,” he adds.
Avery said when he met stroke patients while recovering in the neurorehabilitation unit, he got inspired to begin therapy dog training with his pooch.
Avery tells the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, “When I came home I saw some videos of stroke survivors in hospital who were visited by a therapy dog and it was clear the impact it had on them, so I thought it was something we could do.”
Gotke said, “Martha has seen a patient who is dog mad and when I came in, she was crying and now she is smiling.”
“She said that she has had a paw on her bed and a wet nose on her hand and it’s made a huge difference,” she continued.
Avery said that he and Martha will continue to visit the hospital as long as the good girl continues to enjoy it.
