Some things we do pretty much without thinking.

Cooking, getting in and out of a tub, using the remote, but these are life skills that are often lost to brain injury.

Luckily, someone is thinking about that and how to help.

Brian Dimmell had a stroke and life has become anything but normal him.

He’s moved into two new mini apartments meant to simulate normal, everyday life.

“It's a pleasure to be able to do things,” he said.

Dimmell had his stroke in March, which he tried to do something that was part of his job.

“I went to pick up some debris that was lying on the ground, because that's what I do, and I couldn't pick it up, I couldn't get to it.”

He was having a stroke and had to be taken to hospital in Halifax.

“When I came here, I was in a hoyer lift, which means they had to put me in a hammock basically to go from my bed to my chair, and every day it got better.”

Now, he’s able to walk, cook, and even clean after some intensive rehab. He’s in one of two suites that offer the newest - and most advanced - treatment in the province -

Natalie Thornley is an occupational therapist and interprofessional clinical leader with the Nova Scotia Health Authority. She deals with patients who have suffered a range of injuries, from spinal cord injuries as a result of things like car accidents, to a brain injury from an assault, or a trip or a fall, and people who have had amputations.

“It's our job to work with them to figure out, how are they going to transition back home? How are they going to manage in their bedroom? In their kitchen? How are they going to take on the rolls that they used to have?” Thornley said.

The suites cost $710,000 and were completely donor-funded through the QEII Foundation. The suites officially open to patients on Tuesday.

They are available to patients for as long as they need them.

“It was identified as a project that would have major impact on patients and families,” said Bill Bean of the QEII Foundation.

Dimmell agrees with that.

“People can gain their independence and their feeling of self-worth,” he said.

Brian's next step: to be able to run again.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Laura Brown.