Brixton Stroke Survivor Supports Charity to Highlight 'Survival is Not Enough'

A stroke survivor from Brixton, London, is sharing his story ahead of World Stroke Day, as part of a national campaign to spotlight the fragility of the brain and the life-changing impact a stroke can have on people of all ages.

Samm Haillay, 53, from Brixton, is supporting the Stroke Association's Survival is Not Enough campaign after a stroke struck while he was on a Zoom call with a nurse in 2024.

The film producer and father-of-two was alone in his flat when he suddenly collapsed from his chair during a video appointment. Unable to get up and confused about what was happening, Samm was identified as having a stroke by the nurse on the call, Gordon, whose quick thinking helped get emergency medical help to him.

Paramedics rushed Samm to King's College Hospital, where he received emergency treatment, including a mechanical thrombectomy to remove a blood clot from his brain. Doctors warned he could spend up to 12 weeks in hospital and might never walk again. However, after intensive treatment and rehabilitation, Samm defied expectations and walked out of hospital just 12 days later.

Despite his remarkable progress, Samm says the effects of stroke continue long after leaving hospital.

Samm said: "I felt completely fine in my mind, but gradually I realised how much the stroke had changed my body and my life. I couldn't walk properly, I couldn't do basic things independently and everything was exhausting. Recovery isn't a straight line and it doesn't end when you leave hospital."

Reflecting on the events of that day, Samm believes the Zoom call saved his life.

He said: "I'm one of the lucky ones. If I hadn't been on that call, I could easily have gone to lie down and things might have turned out very differently. Gordon recognised the signs of stroke immediately and got me the help I needed. Thanks to that, I got to hospital quickly enough for treatment that changed the course of my recovery."

Since his stroke, Samm has connected with other stroke survivors through local groups and the Stroke Association's online community. He also volunteers at Kings College Hospital’s stroke ward every week.

He said: "One thing I've learned is that recovery isn't an outcome, it's a journey. Speaking to other stroke survivors has been one of the best forms of therapy because they're the people who truly understand what life after stroke is like."

In the UK, someone has a stroke every five minutes, with 1.4 million people currently living with a brain injury caused by stroke. More than 85,000 people survive a stroke every year, but recovery is only the beginning. Many face a long and gruelling journey adjusting to the trauma and rebuilding their lives, often left without the essential long-term rehabilitation and support they need.

Despite the life-changing impact of stroke, awareness of its severity and the long-term challenges survivors face remains worryingly low amongst the general public.

Although one in four strokes happen to people of working age, nearly a third (28%) of Brits surveyed by the Stroke Association believe they mainly affect people over-65s. While a third of those aged 18-34 (34%) and almost a quarter of 35-44 year olds (24%) believe they’re too young to have one.

The knowledge gap extends to the impact of stroke, with almost a third (32%) unaware that it is a brain injury and nearly one in five (19%) not realising it can cause long-term difficulties with walking, talking, seeing or swallowing. Almost a quarter (22%) underestimate the road to recovery believing it takes just a few months of less.

The Stroke Association’s campaign ‘Survival is Not Enough’ aims to drive awareness of the impact of stroke and support a two-part documentary series commissioned by Channel 4, in partnership with the charity: ‘Trauma: My Broken Brain’. The series follows three young adults, Dan, Saskia and Dec, through the fight of their lives after a life-threatening stroke. ‘Trauma: My Broken Brain’ will be available to stream from Monday 26^thOctober at 10pm on Channel 4.

Juliet Bouverie OBE, CEO of the Stroke Association, said: “A stroke is a devastating brain injury, leaving behind life-changing trauma. In an instant, a stroke can steal away the things that many of us take for granted, such as walking, talking, eating and living independently; the things that make you, you. This new research shows that people still don’t understand a stroke happens in the brain and wrongly believe a stroke only affects older people.

"A stroke isn't only a medical emergency from which you either die or survive, but instead the start of a long and gruelling journey to rebuilding a life. For so many stroke survivors, the fight doesn’t end when their lives are saved, yet every day survivors and their families are left traumatised and without the long-term rehabilitation and support they need. After everything a stroke takes, no-one should have to fight for essential support to recover and live a full life again.”

As part of the campaign, the Stroke Association unveiled a giant brain carved entirely from ice on London’s Southbank, creating a striking spectacle in the heart of the capital. Standing at 2.5 metres tall, the sculpture, which took 150 hours across five days to create, was designed to represent both the complexity and fragility of the human brain.

The ice brain sculpture will be in place at Southbank’s Observation Point on Monday 26^thand Tuesday 27^th October, with members of the public encouraged to stop, view the installation up close and find out more about the impact of stroke through the stroke survivors’ stories.

1.4 million people are living with a brain injury caused by stroke. Help the Stroke Association change what comes next: www.stroke.org.uk/brain