Our dad is a huge man.  

 

He has been blighted by medical challenges in recent years.  He overcame cancer, has heart arrhythmia, two metal hips, Dupuytren's contracture,  an excruciatingly sore fistula that lasted 5 years, diabetes and more.  He had taken all that on the chin and fought on.  So, when he broke his neck in May last year, we weren’t too worried – our dad wouldn’t let that dent his selfless enthusiasm for life. 

 

But then we discovered just how bad it was when doctors told us he had spinal cord syndrome and it would take a year to relearn how to walk, if he ever did.  Shame on us for the dark nights of the soul when his boys doubted his resilience and we struggled with the notion that he might be beat.  Of course he rose to the challenge and, then because the doctors were so impressed by his strength of will and despite his age he was admitted to the astonishing Scottish Spinal Injuries Unit. 

 

During the glory of TeamGB’s performance the Spinal Injuries Unit, which over the years had helped many of the athletes competing in London, held it’s own version of the Paralympics (hence the photo).  Those who know dad will not be surprised to learn that he not only won the indoor rowing event but broke the ergo in the process.  Nor will it surprise you to learn that his good humour and doggedness was an inspiration and support to the young men in the unit struggling to come to terms with their disabilities. 

 

He worked like a bear and in less than 6 months he taught himself how to walk again.  He was in the gym twice a day, loving it.  At 78 years old he was bulking up impressively!

 

Then, in September, just as we were planning his victorious march back home he was struck down by a stroke.  He is paralysed down his left side and struggles to communicate.  He is still recognisably our dad, and still a huge man, but he is living out his days in a way that he loathes.  Stuck in a hospital ward, with angels for nurses, he seldom gets out of bed due to the pain it causes him to sit. Subsequent strokes are progressing vascular dementia so that communication becomes ever more difficult.  He saw his grand daughters tonight and it was traumatic for him as he struggled to tell them how much he loves them – though, bless him, he made it clear for them. 

 

Stroke is brutalising and cruel.  It attacks the core of a person and can remove their ability to resist its impact.  The Stroke Association’s motto is “We’re for life after Stroke”.  Realistically it is too late for their work to give dad a quality of life that he would want but they will help others, and that is just how dad would want it.

So please dig deep and donate now.