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

A stroke survivor from Harlow, is sharing their 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.

Belindah, a mother-of-one who was 38 when she had a stroke last September, is raising awareness as part of the Stroke Association’s ‘Survival Is Not Enough’ campaign. Her experience highlights how stroke can happen at any age and how its effects can turn everyday life upside down in an instant.

Belindah was on her way home from work when she was struck by what she describes as an “excruciating pain” in the back of her head. She began losing sensation in her right hand and struggled to walk and carry out simple tasks, but, unaware she was having a stroke, went home to rest. Despite being unable to speak properly and losing movement on one side of her body, she later made her way to a doctor’s appointment.

It was only the following evening, when Belindah struggled to write at work and a concerned colleague took her to A&E, that she received urgent medical attention. An MRI scan revealed the seriousness of her condition. Doctors told her she had survived three days with a stroke before being transferred to hospital for treatment and recovery.

Belindah spent five days recovering at Queen’s Hospital. With support from physiotherapists, she gradually regained much of the movement on her weaker side and her voice began to return. However, the experience has had a profound impact on her life, and she is now gradually returning to work while coming to terms with what happened.

Belindah said: “I’m now at a point of accepting what happened to me. It feels completely unfair – within an instant my life has changed. But in some strange way, I feel like the stroke has given me a new perspective on life.

“I’m now 37 years old, phasing myself back into work – but I feel like what has happened to me has made me feel like I should do all the things I’ve wanted to do. Life is so precious; I don’t want to waste a minute of mine!”

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