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My stroke came out of the blue. Suddenly I lost the power in my legs and I lost feeling down one side. My speech was slurred and it later went entirely.
I was just 30 years old. I didn’t think strokes happened to people as young and as fit as me.
But they do. I found that out the hard way.
I had a second stroke as I lay in hospital recovering from surgery to remove a blood clot. The stroke left me unable even to say Holly’s name, as she held my hand. Nothing can prepare you for being awake but unable to speak. It is terrifying.
In hospital, I was by far the youngest person on the stroke ward. Everyone had their own goals for recovery, but mine was different. I needed to get back to work, but was that even possible?
Luckily Tim from Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland got in touch, and suddenly I was speaking to someone of a similar age whose life had also changed in an instant because of stroke.
Tim gave me hope. And he gave me confidence for the first time since the stroke.
When life knocks you down, you need a helping hand to get back up. Your donation today can be that hand for someone else, but the charity relies on the generous donations of people like you to employ wonderful people like Tim.
Your donation could help someone walk again. Speak again. Say ‘I love you’ again.
Please give today and help another person get their life back.
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I spent eight weeks in the stroke ward of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. By the time I left the ward, I could walk, but my balance was bad. I had no strength to hold anything.
I had to learn to speak again and had great help from a speech therapist. But I couldn’t remember or say numbers. It was a month before I could even tell the nurses my date of birth each morning when receiving my medication.
It’s hard to describe what I was going through. Nothing can prepare you for how hard recovery after stroke is.
I was desperate to get back to the life I had, but I wasn’t over the worst yet. The strokes were caused by a bacterial infection, and the infection had damaged my heart. I needed valve replacement surgery, so I went straight from the stroke ward to the cardiac ward.
Surgery slowed my stroke recovery because I had to stop doing any physical exercises.
Eventually I was able to go home. I was out of hospital but unable to do anything for myself, which took a mental toll. Unable to leave the house on my own, I felt trapped and helpless, despite the support of family and friends.
“Nothing can prepare you for being awake but unable to speak. It is terrifying.” Donate
“I felt recovery wasn’t just possible but was happening.”
Tim was so upbeat and positive. Now I felt recovery wasn’t just possible but was happening. Tim listened when I talked and helped me set realistic goals. One goal was to be fit enough to go down on one knee to propose to Holly.
I know how lucky I am that you helped make such a vital service possible for me. You can ensure even more stroke survivors have a chance to get their life back by sending a gift today.
Holly and I got engaged just before Christmas 2023, and last month we got married surrounded by the people we love. The support I got from Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland is part of what made that possible, support that only happens because of donations from people like you.
I want all stroke survivors, no matter their age, to feel supported in their recovery as they work to get back to doing what they love. But we need to see it to achieve it, and I saw what Tim had achieved. Having someone like Tim and the support from Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland made all the difference to me.
Today, if you can, please support Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland. My journey shows just how life-changing the right support can be. But none of this would be possible without people like you. Your generosity helps ensure that stroke survivors like me don’t face recovery alone.
Michael
“Last month we got married surrounded by the people we love. The support I got from Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland is part of what made that possible”
£12.50
Will fund a call to our Advice Line nurses for anyone worried about the effects of stroke.
Donate £12.50
£20
£20 Could give someone one hour of vital one-to-one help with a support worker to get back to enjoying life when they come home from hospital.
Donate £20
£40
£40 Could help train a volunteer kindness caller to make sure there is always someone at the end of the phone for people in need of help.
Donate £40