In March, 22-year-old Rose from Morley, had just completed a lunch shift at her family restaurant and was prepping for the evening service, when she experienced a life-threatening bleed on the brain.

Rose was rushed to Leeds General Infirmary, where doctors discovered she had an Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM) which is an abnormal, tangle of blood vessels on the brain, which can increase the risk of a brain haemorrhage.

When she was admitted to hospital, Rose had lost all feeling and movement down the left side of her body, leaving her unable complete day-to-day tasks, like holding a pen or using a knife and fork.

After a couple of weeks, Rose was referred to Chapel Allerton Hospital and after two weeks in her hospital bed she was able to benefit from rehabilitation in the outdoor courtyard area.

Rose had never taken much of an interest in gardening before, but when her occupational therapist suggested getting out into the rehabilitation garden to take part in horticultural therapy, Rose thought she would give it a go.

As part of a group, Rose took part in the therapy sessions and was amazed at how this helped on her journey to recovery, she says:

“At first, I couldn’t hold the trowel without someone else helping - I was getting soil all over the place, but each week I could see the progress I was making, and after four weeks I was so proud of myself when I could use the garden tools independently. I never realised how much digging holes to plant seeds would help my brain recover my movement.

“When you haven’t been able to do anything for yourself, or anyone else for so long, you want to feel like you can do something useful, so having the gardening tasks helped give me a sense of purpose. When my friends and family came to visit, they could see how much happier I was in the garden, they could see my progress and even get involved too - I could see how it made their day.

Rose is grateful to the team who have helped her regain her mobility, the team expected she would be able to stand after eight weeks, but she was able to stand up again after just three weeks of rehabilitation.

“The outdoor and gardening therapy has played an instrumental role in helping me feel prepared to return home. One of the things I’m most excited about is getting back to playing the piano, I’ve played since I was a little girl and the occupational therapists have worked on sensory activity and fine motor skills that will help me with that.”

Just two months later, Rose was discharged from hospital and reunited with her mum, dad, and younger sister Willow back at the family home and plans on continuing to practice her newfound love for gardening.

Rose will continue to visit the hospital regularly as part of her journey to recovery and her biggest aspiration is to get back to working in the restaurant which she sees as a second home.