A MAN who was told he would never walk again after a devastating car crash has thanked staff at Girvan Community Hospital.

Robert Mcllraith, known as Rab, sadly lost his wife in the crash on the A77 south of Ballantrae last year.

The dad of two was airlifted to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow with a broken spine and suffered two punctured lungs and kidney damage.

Staff at the QEUH cared for him for several months before being transferred to Ayr Hospital and then to Girvan Community Hospital in October last year, where he was looked after by the team on the Davidson Ward.

Rab said: “When I heard I was being transferred to Girvan, I had concerns as I heard a lot of rumours about how the care I’d receive would not be good – my experience has been the opposite.

“I started to progress as soon as I came here. It was hard work for the physiotherapists but they managed to get me moving around and kept believing in me.

“I can only thank all the people at Girvan Community Hospital for the care and attention from every member of staff. When you come here, you’ll never walk alone.”

The team on the Davidson Ward in the hospital took on the challenge of learning about new equipment and techniques to help Rab recover from his injuries and begin to rehabilitate. He has recently progressed from walking with elbow crutches to one stick, leaving proud staff emotional.

Charge Nurse Gill Lowrie said: “In terms of nursing care and rehabilitation, there was a lot to learn but everyone rose to the challenge.

“This is a fantastic example of collaboration between specialist physiotherapists and nursing staff, with incredible results, and I want to pay tribute to the whole team.”

Elaine Anderson, Physiotherapy Team Lead, said: “ He knows absolutely everybody in this hospital and everyone has celebrated his success.The team is immensely proud of helping Rab get to this stage – he is a truly remarkable individual.”

Rab will be discharged soon to live in suitably adapted home with his two daughters.