Lucy Cochrane-Brown
Lucy Cochrane-Brown believes in LOVE AFTER STROKE
Fundraising for Stroke Association
Story
In October 2011, my Daddy had a devastating stroke. From being an active, funny, kind and intelligent man, his whole life changed. So too did ours.
We said our goodbyes for what we thought would be the last time. I was getting married the summer after Daddy’s stroke, and I whispered to him that he couldn't leave me now. King's College Chapel had far too long an aisle for me to walk down alone – after all, you’ve seen how high my heels are!
We were given a glimmer of hope: the opportunity for Daddy to be a trial patient for a new technique, thrombectomy, which involves removing the clot surgically. This technique saved his life, as it is now doing for other stroke victims, and the Stroke Association is now campaigning for this treatment to be available in stroke units across the UK.
He was there for my wedding and managed – with a lot of help and a huge amount of hard work – to share the last few steps down the aisle with me. To this day, I'm quite sure that giving me away at my wedding was what gave him the strength to survive and kept him going through some very hard weeks and months of rehabilitation. However, his life is not the same. Nor is ours. Daddy can no longer walk, he is paralysed down one side and needs 24 hour care. His physical limitations are hard to bear but, harder still, are the mental and psychological effects. His mind is jumbled – he suffers from vascular dementia, and his personality has changed dramatically. Fortunately for us all, there is #LoveAfterStroke. Daddy still loves us, and we love him.
That’s why I'm supporting the Stroke Association. Stroke is cruel, sudden and it is not only "something that happens to old people". Stroke can attack anyone and with it, their friends and families too.
Not only has stroke changed the lives of my family; my darling friends and members of my King's family have also seen at first hand the devastating impact stroke can have. We want to help other stroke survivors, their families and those who are suffering loss due to stroke.
Together, we can bring #LoveAfterStroke but we can’t do it alone. The Stroke Association is the national charity that helps to fund research, provide support to stroke survivors and their families, and campaign for better stroke care. By doing so, it is bringing life - and love - back to stroke survivors and their families.
It was a huge surprise when I was offered a place in the London Marathon this January. Being a 'Yes!' girl, there was no other choice... So, on Sunday 23rd April, I will be running the London Marathon in support of the Stroke Association. This is a huge challenge for me (and the training has been awful so far!) but it does not compare with the daily battle that many stroke survivors suffer.
Many of my wonderful friends and members of the King’s family supported me at the Cambridge Half Marathon last year which I ran in aid of the Stroke Association. As a result of their incredible generosity, together we raised over £2,500. I was honoured to have been invited to the Life After Stroke Awards in December where I was nominated as Fundraiser of the Year.
I’m calling on your generosity once again to ask you to support the Stroke Association by sponsoring my marathon, and to join me in both fighting for and celebrating #LoveAfterStroke.
We said our goodbyes for what we thought would be the last time. I was getting married the summer after Daddy’s stroke, and I whispered to him that he couldn't leave me now. King's College Chapel had far too long an aisle for me to walk down alone – after all, you’ve seen how high my heels are!
We were given a glimmer of hope: the opportunity for Daddy to be a trial patient for a new technique, thrombectomy, which involves removing the clot surgically. This technique saved his life, as it is now doing for other stroke victims, and the Stroke Association is now campaigning for this treatment to be available in stroke units across the UK.
He was there for my wedding and managed – with a lot of help and a huge amount of hard work – to share the last few steps down the aisle with me. To this day, I'm quite sure that giving me away at my wedding was what gave him the strength to survive and kept him going through some very hard weeks and months of rehabilitation. However, his life is not the same. Nor is ours. Daddy can no longer walk, he is paralysed down one side and needs 24 hour care. His physical limitations are hard to bear but, harder still, are the mental and psychological effects. His mind is jumbled – he suffers from vascular dementia, and his personality has changed dramatically. Fortunately for us all, there is #LoveAfterStroke. Daddy still loves us, and we love him.
That’s why I'm supporting the Stroke Association. Stroke is cruel, sudden and it is not only "something that happens to old people". Stroke can attack anyone and with it, their friends and families too.
Not only has stroke changed the lives of my family; my darling friends and members of my King's family have also seen at first hand the devastating impact stroke can have. We want to help other stroke survivors, their families and those who are suffering loss due to stroke.
Together, we can bring #LoveAfterStroke but we can’t do it alone. The Stroke Association is the national charity that helps to fund research, provide support to stroke survivors and their families, and campaign for better stroke care. By doing so, it is bringing life - and love - back to stroke survivors and their families.
It was a huge surprise when I was offered a place in the London Marathon this January. Being a 'Yes!' girl, there was no other choice... So, on Sunday 23rd April, I will be running the London Marathon in support of the Stroke Association. This is a huge challenge for me (and the training has been awful so far!) but it does not compare with the daily battle that many stroke survivors suffer.
Many of my wonderful friends and members of the King’s family supported me at the Cambridge Half Marathon last year which I ran in aid of the Stroke Association. As a result of their incredible generosity, together we raised over £2,500. I was honoured to have been invited to the Life After Stroke Awards in December where I was nominated as Fundraiser of the Year.
I’m calling on your generosity once again to ask you to support the Stroke Association by sponsoring my marathon, and to join me in both fighting for and celebrating #LoveAfterStroke.