Duncan’s Journey

Duncan (61, Eccles) is deaf and has a number of underlying health conditions. He was referred to Beyond Empower by a community connector.  Our team were able to work with him, with one of the team acting as a signing interpreter for Duncan.

Duncan has type 2 diabetes and arthritis in his legs and hips. He was very conscious of his weight and how that looked, clearly affecting his confidence and body image.  Duncan’s blood pressure was extremely high and as such, was immediately referred to his GP who was on site at Eccles Gateway.

Duncan had not exercised for some time apart from some chair based exercise sessions. His goals were to lose weight and to tone up those areas he has been particularly concerned about. He was very receptive to the suggestion of obtaining a social inclusion pass from Salford Leisure.

Since starting working with us, Duncan has been attending the leisure centre three times a week. We have been working with him during one of those sessions a week, focussing on strength and toning.  Duncan accesses the other sessions independently and uses the pool and also the gym.

In just a few weeks he has lost weight and his overall wellbeing and mental health have greatly improved. During his last session, he met Elaine, a previous Empower You client who is also deaf and the two of them got on really well.  Duncan continues to update us with texts and pictures of his sessions.