Stroke Association

Devon woman lost her job and her home after a devastating stroke - new she's rebuilding her life by surfing

18 October 2021 16:10

A 62-year-old Devon woman whose life was turned upside down after a devastating stroke has found a perfect way to forget the bad times… on a surfboard.
Sally Freeman lost her home and her job when she had a stroke four days before Christmas in 2015.
Supported by the Stroke Association, she has been rebuilding her life ever since and has recently been enjoying a course for stroke survivors fu

Croydon man's stroke left him unable to speak or write properly and fearful that he wouldn’t be able to work

18 October 2021 15:59

A Croydon man was devastated when a stroke left him unable to speak or write properly and fearful that he wouldn’t be able to work.
Roger, 48, was at home when a blood clot damaged the part of his brain that controls speech and caused a communication difficulty known as aphasia.
Roger was taking a career break to help look after his mum Lyanda who had been diagnosed with dementia. His stroke

Cockapoo Ralph gave stroke survivor hope to rebuild his life

18 October 2021 15:49

A stroke survivor from West Sussex has told how his moment of hope as he struggled to rebuild his life came when he was able to walk his three-year-old cockapoo Ralph again.
It marked a marvellous milestone for Jason Parker on his road to recovery after his stroke – a bleed the size of a tennis ball in his brain - while raking leaves in his garden of his home in Bolney in December 2019.
“I f

Integrated Care Systems pose a potential risk to improving stroke care

13 October 2021 10:14

Stroke is a devastating and all too common condition. It is a sudden brain attack which happens to someone every five minutes in the UK, and two-thirds of survivors leave hospital with a disability.
This is not inevitable; those statistics are entirely reducible. This is why we need to see urgent changes across the stroke pathway: from prevention services through to ensuring better acute t

Hope after a stroke: Nearly a quarter of Scottish stroke survivors lost their job after their stroke with some even losing their home or partner – but having ‘hope’ is critical to recovery

13 October 2021 08:42

The practical, emotional and physical impact of having a stroke has been laid bare by a new survey of over 3,500 stroke survivors across the UK (220 respondents from Scotland), released today. The research, conducted by the Stroke Association ahead of World Stroke Day (29 October), is part of a renewed call for vital funds to help the charity give more survivors hope after their stroke and help th

Hope after a stroke: A third of stroke survivors lost their job after their stroke with some even losing their home or partner – but having ‘hope’ is critical to recovery

13 October 2021 08:34

30% of stroke survivors under the age of 60 say having a stroke cost them their job, almost one in ten say it caused their relationship to end and 6% even lost their home Over half of younger stroke survivors under the age of 50 say they have never emotionally recovered from their stoke But a quarter felt first signs of hope after a week since having a stroke – although nearly one in seven have

Stroke Association comment on - "Pandemic caused a plunge in numbers who saw a GP and this year is set to be worse than last"

21 September 2021 15:26

Charlotte Nicholls, Head of Policy, Stroke Association said:
"In response to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, we saw a rapid move towards telehealth across healthcare. For many stroke survivors, this meant GP appointments, meetings with stroke consultants and rehabilitation therapies being delivered online or over the phone. Our Stroke Recoveries at Risk report found that the ma

Game-Changing Procedure for Stroke Expands to Help Save Lives and Reduce Disability

6 September 2021 00:01

A new, pilot mechanical thrombectomy service for stroke patients in the East of Scotland has been launched today. The service will be based at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and is set to benefit hundreds of people who have been struck with a life-threatening stroke.
John Watson, Associate Director of the Stroke Association in Scotland said:
“This service is long awaited, overdue, but very

Stroke Association response to BMJ study: Risk of thrombocytopenia and thromboembolism after covid-19 vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 positive testing: self-controlled case series study

27 August 2021 00:01

Dr Richard Francis, Head of Research at the Stroke Association, said:
“We have known since early in the pandemic that being infected by the COVID-19 virus has led to strokes in some people and it became apparent during the vaccination rollout that the AstraZeneca vaccine slightly increased the risk of an incredibly rare type of stroke. Our charity has supported stroke survivors throughout the p

Stroke charity’s Award set to benefit hundreds of stroke survivors

1 July 2021 16:16

The Stroke Association in Scotland is planning to support hundreds more people affected by stroke as they recover from the effects of their stroke and impact of lockdown in the aftermath of the pandemic.
The charity has received a Lottery award from The National Lottery Community Fund to help develop and expand its peer support offers to help people affected by stroke, rebuild their lives again

Response to Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme report 2021

29 June 2021 09:56

Response to Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme report 2021
John Watson, Director Scotland of the Stroke Association said:
“Two things leapt out to me in reading “The Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme annual report 2021 launched today.
“First of all I am struck by how well stroke care teams around Scotland have managed to maintain specialist care and treatment to patients, in the fa

Stroke survivors in Wales shape stroke research to rebuild lives

25 June 2021 11:03

The charity’s new report - the first UK-wide project to map research priorities across the entire stroke care and treatment pathway - reveals where research can address the issues holding stroke survivors back from rebuilding their lives after a devastating stroke.
Garry Rees, aged 56 and a computer engineer from Tredegar, Wales, had a stroke in December 2019 resulting in him spending Christmas

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