Why choose COOCI Associates?

Our client sustained major trauma to his lower body in an road traffic accident (RTA).

His left leg injuries were so severe that he required an amputation at the scene. Unfortunately, he also sustained significant injuries to his right leg.

Medically, he underwent a surgical above knee amputation to the left leg and surgery to the right leg to repair fractures. He spent some weeks in hospital.

He was eventually allowed home where, owing to considerable challenges with his mobility, he was limited to using his sitting room. His bed was placed there and he had to manage his toileting needs in the same room too. His partner was very supportive and set up a small area with a microwave and drinks so that he could make himself refreshments during the day. As you can imagine it was a very difficult situation for all concerned. His case manager visited him regularly and supported him in accessing medical appointments for review of his right leg fractures which were not healing.

Owing to his significant injuries it was clear that his accommodation would not be suitable for him in the long term. His case manager supported him in viewing properties which would be suitable for him and once funding was agreed a suitable property was found which met his needs and made his life much easier to manage.  Adaptations to the new bungalow were co-ordinated by the case manager which provided a fully accessible wet room, a dedicated therapy room with a wall mirror and parallel bars and a fully accessible kitchen, enabling the client to benefit from accessing all rooms in his property independently.

Whilst the property was being adapted, he experienced significant delay in the healing of his right leg – and he wasn’t able to obtain a suitable prosthetic limb for his left leg or access proactive rehabilitation.  He was supported by his case manager to attend intermittent follow up appointments with an orthopaedic surgeon at the local hospital who eventually concluded that in order to progress mobility and return to a more active life he would benefit from amputation to the right leg also. This was devastating news, and his case manager supported him in order to seek funding agreement for him to benefit from a private second opinion. His case manager researched a specialist orthopaedic consultant and supported the client to attend for his appointment. The private consultant recommended surgery to remove the ununited bone to promote healing and the application of an external fixator to slowly encourage new bone growth and increase leg length. The case manager provided all the relevant information to secure funding for this procedure and the client underwent the surgery and subsequent leg lengthening process whilst the bone slowly healed. His surgery was successful and he was then supported by his case manager to receive specialist prosthetic rehabilitation to enable him to walk using a prosthetic limb. In alliance with this his case manager engaged the services of a specialist community  physiotherapist to provide ongoing interventions in the community, utilising his therapy room within the home environment to assist him in progressing with his rehabilitation.