Announcing a new Partnership, The OT Practice proudly introduces Alex Lewis as the company's Brand Ambassador
We are extremely proud to announce that Alex Lewis has become our company Brand Ambassador. With Alex’s support we aim to continue to elevate the profile of Occupational Therapy, bringing to a wider audience an awareness of, and thereby accessibility to, the benefits and positive outcomes our profession and therapists can deliver.
Alex’s story is one of remarkable fortitude and inspiration. In November 2013, Alex contracted Strep A. The infection took a sinister path, leading to a series of life-changing complications that required quadruple amputations, extensive skin grafts and facial reconstruction.
In the first three days after being hospitalised, Alex was given a less than 3% chance of survival. Following 12 months in hospital, further extensive surgeries and on-going rehabilitation, he is home and leading a fulfilled and independent life – supported by funds raised through The Alex Lewis Trust to cover his wheelchairs, home adjustments and prosthetics. He has also since embarked on a series of physical challenges, including sky diving and kayaking, and works with select universities on research into prosthetics, equipment and Bio-Mechatronics.
Alex’s remarkable journey led to him being invited to be our motivational guest speaker at The OT Practice’s 2017 conference, which saw him speaking to over 200 of the Company’s therapists and staff on the theme of ‘being the best you can be’.
“Alex’s profound journey, infectious humour and positivity, as well as vast experience and knowledge in innovative rehabilitation for amputees, left a lasting impression on us,” said Nikki Thompson. “Alex’s whole approach to his own care has been, and still is, solution-focussed – he thinks like a very well-trained occupational therapist, which naturally resonated with us. This, together with the fact that Alex lives so close to our headoffice in Hampshire, makes him the perfect fit for our Brand Ambassador role.”
“Both The OT Practice and I are driven by how we can make things better for people like me,” commented Alex. “They experience such a wide variety of specialist cases, keep abreast of the latest and most effective solutions and offer immediacy to their clients, helping them at the right time and in the right way. I am excited to be working with them.”
At the time of his illness and rehabilitation, Alex was unaware of the existence of independent occupational therapy. “The extent of my condition meant the NHS and Social Services struggled to accommodate my needs. Yes, they got me walking, but I encountered many issues with everyday things, like how I was going to eat or drink, how life would be for my young son. There was a lack of information and support and I felt very much alone. I had to, effectively, become my own occupational therapist and determine my own rehabilitation. Thanks to my design and build background, I was naturally inclined to do this. Finding a team like The OT Practice four or five years ago would have considerably helped my own recovery.”
The OT Practice’s support of The Alex Lewis Trust facilitates Alex to continue his extraordinary journey of both inspiring and improving the lives of those who have experienced an amputation both in the UK and overseas.
Nikki said, “We are extremely proud and honoured that Alex has chosen to be our Brand Ambassador. His endorsement of us as clinicians, but also as a business, is fantastic recognition of our team’s ethos and hard work. Alex is at the forefront of research and development for the amputee community, and part of his role with us is to share such insights with our team, leading to more clients benefiting from technical and clinical innovation.”
Alex added, “The Brand Ambassador role enables me to improve awareness of the OT profession and help people understand the options that are open to them to access this specialist rehabilitation service. If I can share my knowledge from the projects I am involved in, with clinicians who are working directly with the wider amputee community, this can only benefit everyone.”
It goes without saying that the professional landscape in which we work is continually changing. We have, and always will, approach every case proactively and innovatively, and are delighted that our therapists apply much from mainstream technology into our everyday practice. But we know there is always more to learn and it’s the innovation and cutting edge technology that Alex is at the forefront of that we are excited to share with the team and see them make a real difference to the lives of our clients.
“We are quite spoilt in the UK with the wide range of services made available to us,” notes Alex, “especially so with independent occupational therapy. However, we must continue to push technology forwards in the UK and remain open and in touch with all the opportunities available to us.”
Now, as our practice enters its tenth year, our partnership with Alex will further widen the reach of awareness of what we offer. It will help clients see that they have options that can lead to a positive future. By making occupational therapy more accessible, we hope to have a wider impact on the independence and quality of life of clients when they need us.
Alex Lewis is, without doubt, a pioneer and a thought leader. His work with Southampton University and Imperial College London has already seen him test new ways for the body to control prostheses, plus create better and more lightweight equipment. Through him, our eyes are opened into an exciting, inspiring and especially meaningful future for both us and our amputee clients, enhancing their rehabilitation potential and upholding the unparalleled standards of clinical and client care for which The OT Practice has become so renowned.
We will be sharing Alex’s adventures and work in a quarterly blog, which we will share on our website – theotpractice.co.uk – and via our case manager newsletters.
