When Liz Barks underwent two knee replacements before suffering a stroke, she was told she’d be unlikely to ever kneel again. But after just a week at Jubilee House, that changed.
While it may seem small, it means she can now get down to the floor and play with her youngest grandchild again.
That’s why we’re here – supporting with both the big challenges and the everyday things, helping people like Rob and Liz move forward.
Rob served as an on-call firefighter with Staffordshire FRS for 15 years before becoming self-employed. He’d experienced our support before following an injury, but more recently, both he and Liz have spent time at our centres – benefiting physically and emotionally.
“I absolutely loved my time in the service, and it meant I always knew about Fire Fighters Charity,” says Rob, who first visited Jubilee House following a knee injury while he was in the service. He adds: “It fast-forwarded my recovery. I never forgot it.”
Years later, in June 2024, Rob ruptured his Achilles tendon and was off work recovering when Liz sadly suffered a stroke.
“It’s incredibly fortunate I was there,” he says. “I spotted the signs straight away and within five and a half hours she was being operated on.
“Unfortunately, it was quite a bad stroke and impacted her hugely. From being a busy school dinner lady looking after 40 children for the last 20 years, she now can’t work again.”
While Liz has regained physical strength and mobility well, she lives with anxiety, memory loss and reduced confidence. Rob has also since stopped working to care for her, placing strain on their finances.
“She’s always cared for others, that’s just who she is. Now it’s her turn to be cared for, and that’s really hard for her,” says Rob.
Knowing where to turn, he contacted us again, and in February 2025, they stayed together at Jubilee House with our nursing team – the first of several visits.
“It was brilliant, we’ve been up three times since,” Rob says.
While he spends time outdoors walking and cycling, Liz works with our physiotherapy and exercise therapy team in the hydrotherapy pool and gym. And more recently, they had a particularly meaningful breakthrough: “One of the physiotherapists told Liz they could get her kneeling before she went home – and they did! It sounds small, but it’s meant she can kneel down and play with our youngest grandchild now. It’s really fantastic.
“She’s always very upset when we have to come home – she’s a different girl when she’s there.”
Having spent time on our programmes, both Rob and Liz understood the close relationship between physical and mental health – and how one can impact the other. It’s that which pushed Rob to get in touch about his own mental wellbeing more recently.
“We went to Harcombe House where I did the Reset Programme while Liz did artwork and crafts with the wonderful staff there,” he says. “It’s something she’d never done before, and she loves it now.”
Alongside caring for Liz, Rob had also faced kidney cancer in 2018 and says the emotional impact had built up without him realising: “I had the chance to share my experience on the programme and I felt so much better when I did. A lot of people were in similar situations and it really helped to chat to them.
“I can’t thank the charity enough for what they’ve given us back.”
Rob Barks
“When it came to the end of the week, Liz actually cried – she didn’t want to leave. Her exact words were: ‘Harcombe House has wrapped its arms around me’.
“She doesn’t really walk alone now, but at Harcombe House she was able to walk back from a class to our bungalow alone. She got some independence back.”
As a way of saying thank you for the support, Rob began to carve some small wooden trees to donate to our centres – which now sit proudly for others to enjoy.
“I can’t thank the charity enough for what they’ve given us back. That’s why I wanted to give something back. We’re very stretched financially, so this was one way of saying thank you,” he says.
If you feel you’d benefit from our health and wellbeing support, you can call our Support Line on 0800 389 8820, make an enquiry online or click below: