I had a stroke in 2020 during a global pandemic I didn't see any of my family for 6 weeks. Different strokes attended my bedside. Gave me support information and helped me pick books to send to my children to explain what had happened to their mum.

After 6 weeks if being home my mental health took a huge nose dive and I felt like no one understood. Then j found the private different strokes page on Facebook and there I found survivors like myself. All being members of a club no one wants to be in. All dealing with the same thing yet it being so different for each one of us. And they helped me.

The minute you put a "struggling" comment on one of their public social medias they are there for you. In your inbox if needs be. An amazing small charity helping so many lives in the UK

My life is forever changed I was exercising daily now I get fatigued from simple every day things. Running a house can sometimes be fine sometimes I'm too tired to function. My left foot never regained it's movement so I have to walk with an uncomfortable AFO and my balance isn't the greatest I have to do physio every day but it's not easy to fit around the kids unless I do it in the evening and then I'm too tired.

The stroke changed me forever and different strokes help me grieve and process the loss of old me and accept the new me. And some days it's still hard but they are always there for us.

Every year 100,000 people have a stroke and a quarter of these people are under the age of 65. That's 25,000 younger people whose lives are changed in an instant.Stroke is also the single biggest cause of disability in the UK, but it's not always the visible disabilities that stroke survivors have to contend with, debilitating fatigue, cognitive problems and personality changes can also be a lifelong challenge, preventing them from returning to work or bringing up a young family.Different Strokes empowers younger survivors to reclaim their lives through active peer support, information and exercise.Different Strokes also support the wider family to get through challenging times with compassion and understanding.This is why I am taking on the 'March On' step challenge to raise vital funds to support the work of Different Strokes.