Jilly’s story so far...
When Jilly and her mum Karen first got in touch with us at Cortex Physiotherapy in April 2025, they had already overcome more challenges than many face in a lifetime. Jilly, who lives with an undiagnosed neurological condition, commonly referred to as a SWAN (Syndrome Without A Name), has never walked independently in her life. She was born with scoliosis and underwent spinal surgery in October 2022. The road to recovery was long and difficult. The surgery left her bed bound, and Jilly required hoisting to move at all until January 2024.
Jilly's mum Karen, who had long sought additional physiotherapy support for her daughter, was desperate to find a provider that could offer the hands-on, specialist input Jilly needed. When asked if they had received physiotherapy support before coming to us, Karen said:
"Jilly has an NHS physiotherapist since she was very young but I feel Jilly needs more hands-on physiotherapy. Her legs were very weak, and she was needing more help and support so that she could hopefully walk unaided."
That’s where we came in.
Jilly began her journey with us full of motivation and clear goals. “To help me with my walking and make me stronger and more confident,” she said.
“I want to walk without support as at school and at home I still use a walker."
From the outset, our treatment has focused on postural stability, balance, and strengthening exercises, both during sessions and through a structured home exercise plan. Jilly has taken this plan in stride, showing incredible dedication. Even in just the first few weeks of treatment, she was already advancing several of her exercises beyond the original program.
Jilly also lives with ligament laxity, a condition that causes increased flexibility in the joints, making stability and strength more difficult to achieve. This means that Jilly needs to develop even greater muscle control than the average child to compensate for her laxity. Her determination to work through this challenge has been nothing short of inspirational.
We began with foundational balance work, first on stable surfaces and later progressing to our AirTrack, a soft cushioned surface designed to challenge standing balance.
Soon, Jilly was able to engage in more dynamic challenges. In one memorable session, she stood upright, batting a balloon back and forth while keeping her balance with only one hand resting gently on our physiotherapist’s arm.
As her strength and confidence grew, so did her goals. Then came a breakthrough, Jilly walked with support from walking poles for the first time.
Karen described the impact:
"Jilly’s experience has been amazing in just a few sessions. I’d been looking for more support for years. They are brilliant with Jilly, they make it fun, and she loves this. She’s getting so much stronger now. The muscles in her legs and ankles were very weak before, and it’s just so great to see her building strength."
When asked about her goals at the start of her journey, Jilly & Karen said:
“My goals would be to walk independently without support and build up my strength and muscles so that I can get stronger, and also to have more confidence and believe in myself."
Jilly's advice to anyone else going through a similar experience?
“Anything is possible. Keep pushing yourself and most importantly believe in yourself. Don’t let anyone dull your sparkle or tell you it’s not possible, because it is. I was told that if I wasn’t sitting up unaided before I was 2, I would never walk at all. But here we are. With fight and sheer determination… I’ve had two spinal surgeries and spent a year on bed rest, and I’m fighting back"
Karen added:
"I hope that this story helps any other wee person or anyone needing that extra bit of encouragement not to give up hope."
We couldn’t be prouder of Jilly’s progress. Her motivation, commitment, and joyful energy light up every session. At Cortex Physiotherapy, she’s not just working toward walking independently, she’s showing what’s possible when you combine the right support with unstoppable determination.