A man who was left paralysed by a stroke more than 20 years ago has regained the ability to walk after being treated with Botox injections. Russell McPhee, now 49, from Victoria, Australia, suffered a devastating stroke at age 26, leaving him unable to walk and reliant on a wheelchair.
McPhee, who had been a keen footballer, cricketer and basketball player, said: 'I felt my life had ended. I lost my job, my wife left me, I ended up with nothing.' He can now walk 65 feet almost unaided and cover five times that distance with the help of a walking frame.
The treatment, more commonly used for cosmetic purposes, was injected into his muscles to treat limb spasticity, a condition affecting up to 40 per cent of stroke patients where muscles become overactive and stiff. Botox blocks the chemical signals that cause muscles to contract, allowing them to relax.
Dr Nathan Johns, who treated McPhee, said: 'When he came to us the spasticity in his muscles had not been treated for 20 years, so it was very strong. But Russell had unusually good muscle power despite being in a wheelchair for so long.' After the injections and intensive physiotherapy, McPhee saw marked improvement within 12 weeks.
Experts caution that such dramatic recovery is rare. Professor John Olver, a leading stroke expert in Australia, said: 'It is unfortunate that this patient had to wait for 20 years and extremely unusual that his treatment was so successful after being immobile for so long.' Dr David Werring from the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London described the case as 'exceptionally rare'.
