A Belfast woman has opened up on learning to walk again after suffering a life-changing stroke.
62-year-old Linda Crooks suffered her stroke nearly three years ago and was rushed to the Royal Victoria Hospital.
It was then confirmed that she had an ischaemic stroke as she had a blockage in one of the arteries of her brain.
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Linda said: “The day I had my stroke was a perfectly normal Sunday. I started to feel a bit dizzy, so I went and lay down upstairs. When I woke up, I needed the bathroom, but I couldn’t get up. I was paralysed on my left side. I banged on the floor to alert my husband Allen, and when he came up, he knew straight away I was having a stroke."
After her stroke, the Belfast woman felt like her whole world had come to an end.
“I was devastated and felt that I wasn’t me anymore and frustrated that I couldn’t do the things I used to do. I had to relearn to walk. When I first came home from hospital, I couldn’t do anything with my left hand.
“At Christmas it upsets me when I can no longer do some of the little things I used to love doing and I’m reminded again that my life will never be the same after having the stroke. We love Christmas in our house, and I always loved putting the Christmas tree up and decorating the whole house. But now it’s too difficult for me to stand up and hang all the decorations.
"I can’t write Christmas cards anymore either or cook the Christmas dinner. The wee things like that you don’t think of are changed forever," she added.
Local health charity Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke (NICHS) want to raise public awareness about the long-lasting effects experienced by many people who have suffered a heart attack or stroke or have a respiratory condition.
The charity is launching their Christmas ‘Little Things’ campaign to highlight many of the little things that people affected by chest, heart and stroke illnesses might be unable to do and the ways in which the charity can help.
Linda has praised the charity and said: “I feel so blessed that Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke came into my life. I started their PREP programme in May. It lasted for 6 weeks and I enjoyed it so much, I went back for another 6 weeks. Each week we’d do exercises with a physio and each week I was finding I could do the exercises for longer. It really helped with my physical recovery.
“It has helped with my walking. When I was in hospital I said I want to get home and walk my dog Olive. I still can’t walk her on my own, but my walking has improved and with my crutch I can go out with Allen every morning and join them.”
One of the biggest benefits of PREP for both Linda and her husband Allen has been the emotional support which has helped the couple understand Linda’s stroke and its full impact.
Linda said: “At PREP, we learn about different aspects of stroke and how to manage it. When I was finding it hard to control my emotions and taking them out on my family, Allen used to take it personally, but from going to the class, we both learned it’s because of my brain being affected by the stroke.
“Being able to go along and share with people who know what you’re going through has done my mental health the world of good too. We’re all supporting each other, and it gives us hope.”
“My stroke was almost 3 years ago, and life has changed for the better. Allen and I now volunteer each week at PREP, and at an NICHS Young Stroke Group. I’m so happy to be able to give back to others like me who are starting their stroke journey.”
Ursula Ferguson, Director of Care Services at NICHS, said: “NI Chest Heart & Stroke has been supporting people in Northern Ireland for over 75 years. Last year we supported around 17,000 people through our support and physical rehab programmes for people living with chest, heart and stroke conditions, as well as through our prevention programmes which work with workplaces, schools and community settings. We also campaign for better care and awareness of these conditions as well as fund research to advance treatments and prevention work.
“There are however over 335,000 people living with a chest, heart or stroke condition here so there is still plenty to be done. As a local charity, almost 90% of all our work is funded exclusively by public donations and these funds are essential in enabling us to continue to provide life-changing services for people like Bosco and Linda and their families. Without the public’s generous support, we could not help people across Northern Ireland enjoy more of the little things they love, this Christmas and beyond.”
Jackie Trainor, Director of Income Generation at the charity added: “We understand everyone is finding it tough at the moment with the cost of living crisis but as Ursula mentioned, without the support of the Northern Ireland public, we would not be able to continue to help the thousands of local people who need us. We really appreciate any support people can give us. From a £1 donation, which may seem so small, to thousands of pounds from a fundraising event, every pound is important and really helps us to make a difference.”
To find out more about supporting the charity’s ‘Little Things’ campaign this Christmas, visit www.nichs.org.uk/littlethings.
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