Resilience and recovery with Silverchain

“I died, Bill said. “No blood was flowing.” 

When ex-army marine engineer and RDNS Silverchain client Bill was confronted with something as unavoidable as death, his attitude was simple: “Don’t give up.” Given his many health challenges, these words, and some great people from RDNS, have served him well. 

Bill's attitude was primarily formed through his time in the army. He "joined young" (when pressed, he admitted he was just 15 years old at the time) and was taught determination from the get-go.

Bill’s never-say-die attitude has seen him through 15 defibrillations, and subsequent bypass surgery, diabetes, hypertension, and a foot amputation. His current challenge: a serious foot wound. 

During his post-amputation rehabilitation, Bill was faced with a somewhat negative physiotherapist who told Bill his expectations were unrealistic. Bill would have none of that.

"At a minimum, I wanted to be able to walk to the nearest bus stop. You see, if you limit yourself, other people may just want to lower the bar for you. I didn't think my expectations were unreasonable. For me it was simple: don't give up." 

While attitude makes a huge difference, a good team is also needed. RDNS doesn't simply provide expert wound care and medication management for Bill, they do it with genuine compassion. 

“The team from RDNS – they’re experts. They treat you like family, making you feel you’re important. They treat you like a person, not just a task.” 

Bill also has useful advice for other people experiencing health challenges. 

“Mentally, you can make it all uphill, or you can adopt an attitude that it’s downhill. When people want to limit you, you have the power to say, ‘No, that’s not the way I want to be.’” 

Today, Bill continues to look forward. His latest goal? To be able to get back on the tools and make the most of his lathe.