A lot of you know that in my group of friends, one of our best mates suffered an unexpected stroke this Summer. This completely and utterly took us by shock and made us take a step back. It's extremely unfair that our best friend had to go through this just before he was about to leave to go to one of London's top accountancy firms. The amount of effort, dedication and hard work he put into creating an amazing career for himself is praise worthy and needs to be applauded. He was the last person to deserve what happened for many reasons. So, to show how much I respect and love him, I thought I'd do the Great North Run, or at least attempt to have my body dragged over the finish line. I'm going to try and raise £500 but also aiming a little higher and donate the money to The Stroke Association. 

  

Every year an estimated 150,000 people in the UK have a stroke. Of all people who suffer from a stroke, about a third are likely to die within the first 10 days, about a third are likely to make a recovery within one month and about a third are likely to be left disabled and needing rehabilitation. 

Stroke has a greater disability impact than any other medical condition. A quarter of a million people are living with long-term disability as a result of stroke in the UK. 

 

The Stroke Association is the only UK wide charity solely concerned with combating stroke in people of all ages. 

 

The Stroke Association funds research into prevention, treatment and better methods of rehabilitation, and helps stroke patients and their families directly through its Life After Stroke Services. These include Information, Advice and Support, Communication Support and Life After Stroke grants. 

 

If someone is brave and strong enough to survive a stroke, I can surely complete a half marathon. Please help me. 

 

Fresh.