My mum, Margaret, suffered a stroke in July 2012 and has been recovering from it since. The nature of her stroke means that her right-hand side was affected and, most importantly, her speech.
She has recovered really well and has been living independently since Christmas, however she can still find it difficult to get her words out - a real frustration to such an articulate, sociable lady.

A lot of the improvements she continues to experience are down to the work that the Stroke Association does through their communication group in Pembroke Dock. They get together every week, as well as providing one-to-one speech therapy in my mum's home. On top of their regular meetings at St. John's Church, the communication group have organised visits to the cinema and meals out in local pubs.

The work they have done has been invaluable to our family and I have decided to run my first half-marathon to raise money for them, as well as to get fit for myself.