Phoebe -

As the daughter of a stroke survivor, I feel I can notice when my mom is feeling tired and is more impacted by her stroke. Having grown up only knowing my mom like that it is normal to me to look out for her and try to relieve her pain or her being uncomfortable by helping around the house: cooking, cleaning, walking the dog. With the case of my mom, Ingrid, I see all the work that she has put into her life post stroke, with her amazing work for Different strokes Birmingham and Sandwell and recently with her work with stroke patients at Rowley hospital. I see her when she is having a bad day but carries on because of her generous personality. I see her work as a mother and how she supports her family, I cannot imagine a world where her bubble of comfort and positivity is not here to guide me through life. The stroke had many consequences to our family, but it allowed us to spend more time with, Ingrid as a mother and wife. My mom does not limit herself during family activities and always gives her full self, even when she is struggling. I think my mom is an admirable person. When she first approached me to do this abseil, I immediately said no due to my fear of heights, but after thinking about this further I thought that it would be good for me to do my part and that doing it with my mom would make it a bearable experience. Furthermore, I thought it would be a nice way to celebrate the eighteen years post stroke recovery for my mom and my birthday. But ultimately, I am doing this abseil for my mom to show a fraction of strength that she shows every day.

Ingrid –

For me being pregnant then having a multi focal stroke, I was more concerned about my unborn child, I wasn't thinking about how I was going to recover just worried about how it was affecting my unborn child. When my baby was finally born and she was the biggest baby in the neonatal unit, needing very little help I knew she was a fighter and would be just fine. Nearly 18 years later I am so incredibly proud of my daughter and all her achievements, when I mentioned in passing how Different Strokes were doing this charity abseil roughly the same time as my stroke 18 years ago, how it would be an idea us doing it together! Knowing Phoebe’s fear of heights, I never imagined she’d agree to it, but here we both are, signed up to do this charity Abseil to celebrate her 18th, my ongoing recovery, and fingers crossed hopefully to raise money for a charity that supports younger stroke survivors DIFFERENT STROKES.

Different Strokes is a great charity, supporting younger stroke survivors in various ways. To be able to raise funds for the ongoing work being done will be such a benefit for anyone who is starting their stroke recovery journey. To find out more about the wonderful work different strokes do visit https://differentstrokes.co.uk/

Please support us in our challenge to abseil from the Northampton Lift Tower and to raise as much money as we can for this cause close to our heart - Thank you!