Fitting the present Paralympic Games I've decided to dedicate the Hero of the Month to the creator of these amazing and believing event - Sir Ludwig Guttmann.
Being a Jew in Germany, Guttmann faced antisemitism, his prestigious career as a renown neurologist suffered from Nazi laws, such as his inability to treat non Jews. He sought asylum in England where he and his family fled to Oxford working in a laboratory, until the War Office allowed him to become a doctor again, anticipating the heavy flow of war injuries. In 1944 he became a Physician in the Spinal Injuries Ward at Stroke Mandeville Hospital, which is the place where the intelligent, charismatic, compassionate and strong man changed the lives of so many.
The state he found the Spinal Unit in disgusted him. It was more a place for patients to slip into the oblivion of morphine and die, death rate was high (mostly from bed sores or urine infections), moral and expectancy for any life was low. Guttmann completely transformed the place, urging his patients to fight back, making nurses more positive and talking to the patients, taking them off the heavy dosage of sedatives they were all on, getting them entertainment and decor, and most importantly training them in physical activity.
Guttmann was a firm believer in physiotherapy and that building strength despite paralyses counteracted depression, hence hiring an army physical trainer to get the men fit. This changed the way the men thought about themselves, challenging them, and soon the ward became a place of miracles. An amazing case story is this - A World War one veteran, who had been lying flat on his back for 26 years, came to the Unit to try one of their new wheelchairs. Six months later, he left able to walk with the aid of just a stick.
This was when Guttmann decided to move his ideas of physiotherapy, healthy competition, and fighting disabled prejudice up another level. A national tournament consisting of physically disabled participants. In twelve years (each year growing in numbers) the first official Paralympic games were held in Rome! This inspiring man was knighted in 1966, well deserving from his numerous life changing achievements.
Watch the amazing film dedicated to Gutmann still on iPlayer! The Best of Men - A truly great film. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01m1jqd/The_Best_of_Men/
