Home Local News How building a dalek helped my chronic pain

How building a dalek helped my chronic pain

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A father with chronic pain surprised staff and patients at Southport hospital when he toured the wards with his homemade, life-sized dalek.

Kevin Howard has been using the pain service for 14 years since he woke up one morning with pain in his shoulder. The pain intensified and numerous tests and investigations over two years failed to produce a diagnosis. Kevin was eventually diagnosed with chronic pain, though after two years of suffering he was no longer able to work as an electrical engineer and required regular pain medication.

It was a referral to Clinical Psychology at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust that helped Kevin turn his life around. “The pain is still the same, I just have a different mindset now,” said Kevin.

Because of his pain, Kevin was no longer able to play football with his son, Stewart, they set about building a life-size dalek so they could do something together. “We call the dalek Jeremy and he’s 12 years old now. We started building him when my son was six and it helped to teach him how to use tools, it took us three months to build. We even used Jeremy as a Christmas tree one year. My wife wasn’t too happy!”

Stewart is now 18 and accompanied his Dad (and Jeremy the dalek) around the hospital to boost the spirits of patients and staff.

Kevin is also a volunteer at the pain clinic, based at Ainsdale Centre for Health and Well-Being, every Friday and with the Living Well programme. For more information on the pain clinic and Living Well, visit www.southportandormskirk.nhs.uk and click on the Clinical Psychology section.

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