My husband, Jeff, suffered his first stroke when asleep in bed on November 28th 2012. It was 11.30pm and fortunately I was still awake and able to call 999 straight away. The ambulance arrived within the hour and he was quickly transported to the A & E Department of the Royal Derby Hospital. He was met by the stroke team and was immediately thrombolysed (given the amazing drug that dissolves the clot).  This must be given within three hours of the stroke occurring otherwise it is too late. Jeff started to recover quickly, which was incredible to witness after seeing him unconscious following the stroke. Unfortunately two days later he suffered a second stroke which resulted in left sided weakness and short term memory loss.

It is such a shock when a stroke happens and extremely difficult to come to terms with. The impact of the stroke, for both my husband and for me as his wife/carer, has been immense. 

Many people have helped us during the past sixteen months. The Stroke Team at the Royal Derby, Occupational and Physiotherapist, The Community Stroke Team, Crossroads Care, Readycall Volunteers, Ashbourne and District Stroke Club. Without their expertise my husband would not have made such progress. It is has been invaluable and has supported my husband to regain some confidence and helped towards improving his fitness and quality of life. In addition the support I have received from the various teams has been immense.

Jeff and I decided that the best way to say thank you to everyone who helped us on this long and difficult journey is to raise money for the Stroke Association.This will be used in their continued research programme and in particular the work that is being undertaken at Kings College London into the brains capacity to heal itself after a stroke.

We continue to fight the impact of the Stroke and work together to try and achieve a good quality of life, which alas, at times is not easy.

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