Friends greeted Steven English with hugs and warm welcomes when he recently walked through the door of Olde Towne Tavern on North Market Street. For him, the entry was a feat in itself considering that until recently he had been using a wheelchair.
English, 75, of Citizens Nursing Home, began using a wheelchair after a fall and a minor stroke almost three years ago.
“My walker slipped away from me, and I tried to walk towards it and ended up doing a face-plant into the concrete,” English said.
He approached physical therapist Rich McQuarrie in April with the goal of walking again and has since returned to walking with a walker.
Citizens staff members have done their best to accommodate English, who wakes up at 8 a.m. for therapy. Night staff members help him prepare for the day and fix him an early breakfast to make sure he is on time.
“Morning is the best time for him,” McQuarrie said. “He’s said that morning energy is the best energy.”
English has missed only one session in the six months he has been in therapy and “has become one of the most hardworking patients I have ever had,” said McQuarrie, who has several other patients at Citizens.
“He makes goals every week and keeps meeting them, and as long as that happens we can continue,” he said.
A brace is being made to help English navigate with the walker; he eventually wants to be able to walk with a cane.
When he isn’t in therapy, English can be found painting at Citizens, which has placed many of his works on display.
Art has been a passion for English since before he arrived in Frederick in 1986. He modeled at the Pratt Institute and Parsons New School for Design in New York City.
“I learned a lot about art while I was modeling from listening to the professors,” said English, who said he modeled beside Madonna while at Parsons.
Frederick’s hospitable arts community gave English a place to begin his art career, and he quickly became a mainstay.
“He’s such a good guy,” said Natalie Westbrook, the daughter of Dave Fulton, owner of Whitesell Pharmacy, where English worked for several years. “He’s been like a brother figure and has always been very supportive.”
English demonstrated the success of his therapy Thursday afternoon as he walked one block from the bar to Whitesell, where half a dozen people stopped to greet him.
Inside the pharmacy, a wall is dedicated to English’s abstract, comedic-themed works. Many employees said his work adorns their walls at home.
“He’s a staple in downtown Frederick,” said Rafael Torres, a pharmaceutical technician at Whitesell. “He is in a class of his own.”
Physical therapy has helped English improve at such a rate that soon he will no longer be able to stay at Citizens. He has discussed the possibility of returning to downtown Frederick if he does leave.
“It’s great that he’s getting out into the community,” McQuarrie said. “He has the confidence to get back out there.”
