A 58-year-old woman has regained her independence after recovering from severe brain damage that left her unable to walk, stand, or care for herself. Karen Kerr's remarkable recovery came through treatment at a physiotherapy clinic founded by her son Iain Legge and his partner Dionne Harvey - despite doctors warning their efforts would be futile.
Kerr's symptoms began in January 2023 when she was living in Dorset. She struggled to use her hands, couldn't stand, and developed slow, slurred speech. Her son Legge, 30, immediately suspected a stroke. «I immediately thought she's having a stroke, so we got an ambulance down to her house and she was taken to hospital,» he said.
Tests revealed brain damage caused by haemochromatosis, a genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to process iron. «She had a lot of built-up iron in her system. Other toxins which were then not getting filtered by the liver were building up in the bloodstream,» explained Dionne Harvey, 33, a physiotherapist. «Those toxins in the blood were then reaching the brain, and that is what was causing the damage.»
Hospital wanted 24-hour care
After four months in hospital, Kerr's condition had deteriorated so severely she couldn't hold a sitting balance. Her weight dropped to just over six stone. The hospital recommended placing her in a 24-hour care facility. «Obviously, we didn't want that,» Legge said.
The family pushed for an alternative. «We pushed to try and see if there was an alternative to get her back home and after four months, she was discharged and she had barely any sitting balance,» Legge recalled. «Everything she had was in one room – the bed, the commode – she couldn't leave that room.»
Kerr required four daily care visits from at least two carers at a time. Other medical professionals told Legge and Harvey that their efforts to treat her would be futile.
Treatment at son's new clinic
In 2024, Legge and Harvey founded Cortex Physiotherapy in East Ayrshire. They began treating Kerr in May 2024 using neuroplasticity training, where the brain rewires itself through repeated small tasks.
The approach worked. Kerr, who had previously competed professionally in showjumping, progressed from using a Zimmer frame to a walking stick, which she now rarely needs. She lives fully independently, no longer requires carer visits, and can drive again.
«To begin with, I just wanted to go to Asda or Tesco with somebody and walk, and then I went Christmas shopping last year,» Kerr said. «Once it was explained to me why I was having trouble, I felt that I could recover, instead of being written off.»
She joked about the challenges: «The hardest bit about recovery was Iain telling me what to do.» But her maternal instinct drove her forward. «But as a mother, I kept thinking, 'I can't let my son down, I'm the mum, I've got to do this, so I can look after him'.»
Future goals and message of hope
Kerr still relies on her son for certain tasks. «There's still certain things I can't do, but I just phone Iain,» she said. «I sometimes feel like a toddler, you know 'don't put your finger in the plug, don't climb that ladder'.»
Looking ahead, Kerr has set new goals. She wants to wear high heels to Ladies' Day at Ayr Racecourse in April and hopes to resume horse riding. «I'll need to get back in the heels soon, because there's a dress code and you can't even get in with plimsolls,» she said.
Her message for others facing similar challenges is clear: «Just keep going, don't give up. When it initially happens to many other people, they think they're never going to get better. It's all self-determination.»
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
