IMAGINE losing complete control of your body, going into spasms, losing consciousness and eventually waking up in hospital, unsure of where you are or even what happened to you. Now imagine this happening to you at the age of 27.

It was a regular day at the office for Nikki Maharaj when suddenly her arm went into uncontrollable spasms. Unable to remain seated, the young mother collapsed to the floor as concerned colleagues rushed to her aid.

She was rushed to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital where doctors performed an MRI and discovered a tumour slightly larger than a dollar coin lodged firmly on the left side of her brain.

That was five months ago and as Mrs. Maharaj completes her two hours of physiotherapy at the Day Hospital Rehabilitation Service at KEMH, she explained that she took so much for granted until that fateful day when her life literally screamed to a halt.

For weeks she had been suffering from headaches and eventually went to see her doctor.

She was told they were just tension headaches. After all, who would have thought an incredibly fit and healthy 27-year-old woman could possibly have a brain tumour?

The tumour was removed at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and weeks of intensive physiotherapy followed.

"I was scared. I was in denial at first. I kept thinking that this couldn't be happening to me and that you can't tell me I'm not going to walk again. I fought my way through it," she said.

No matter where she was in the medical facility, or what was happening around her, she would exercise. And she believes it was this positive attitude and her need to get back to her children in Bermuda that helped to spur her recovery.

She said it was a tough month, not only for her, but also for her six-year-old daughter and four-year-old son who stayed behind with family and whom she only spoke to on the telephone.

"My son is younger and I think it was more traumatic for him because he didn't always understand when I said I was doing better, but still wasn't coming home. He kept asking why I wasn't coming home," she said.

Following a month of intense physiotherapy, Mrs. Maharaj eventually returned to Bermuda: "When I first came back to Bermuda my (right) arm still wasn't right. But from the exercises and strengthening programme, I can see a big improvement. I'm not back to normal, but it feels more normal."

She attends six hours of physical and occupational therapy at the Day Hospital every week and last week returned to work for the first time.

"It's an ongoing process and can take between six months and a year, but they tell me a year from now I might be back to my old self," she added. "I feel like I've made a big improvement because I was stuck in a bed and couldn't move at all.

"Now I'm able to walk and feel closer to normal than I was."

Mrs. Maharaj said every so often she realises she'd forgotten how to do certain day-to-day things: "You keep finding out about things, like your weaknesses. When I haven't tried to do something before and I try now, I realise I have to learn it all more than again."

While her doctor has given her the go-ahead to drive again, she admitted she did not yet feel confident enough to give it a shot.

"It was crucial to me to get back to daily life and get back to work. You don't always think about what you're going to have a problem with, but my therapist pointed things out and before I left the hospital (in the US), my therapist and I did an exercise where I had to get off the floor without using anything and I just couldn't do it," she admits.

"You don't think about basic things . . . like walking, I had to think about every step I took. I had to relearn everything and I guess we just take things for granted."

The Day Hospital Rehabilitation Service, which opened at KEMH about a year ago, helps patients such as Mrs. Maharaj, people who are recovering from disabilities or accidents who are trying to get their lives back to normal.

The team consists of a physician consultant, clinical nurse leader, clinical psychologist, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, social workers, and clinical aides, home care team, clinical dietician and a speech and language pathologist.

Clinical psychologist Robyn Montarsolo said some 34 patients currently visit the Day Hospital for continued care and include people suffering from Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and who are recovering from a stroke, accident or surgery all referred to the service by their general practitioner.

However, sometimes patients are also referred to the service by social workers who work with patients currently at KEMH, or those returning from abroad following surgery, as was the case with Mrs. Maharaj.

"In-patients receive rehabilitation on the wards. The great thing about us is that we have a direct link to the inpatient units so our nurses can go up units and our nurses can assess the patients and see if they're appropriate for day hospital upon their discharge. That means there's a minimum wait time from when they're discharged until we can see them," she explained.

She said it was important for families to participate in the rehabilitation process for various reasons.

"Some people are just unable to do things entirely for themselves and will need families to help them do part of their home exercise programme, so we encourage family participation.

"Also, care giving is a very stressful role and we try and provide as much support for the care givers as possible.

"The whole point of rehabilitation is to help people become more independent and we're just facilitators of that."

The "Staying Steady Group" was launched by the Day Hospital recently to help those who are a little unsteady on their feet, learn vital techniques in not only preventing a fall, but also in getting themselves off the ground should they fall.

For more information, the Day Hospital Rehabilitation Service can be contacted at 239-2179 or by e-mailing dayhospitalbermudahospitals.bm