Most of you who know me will know that I am very close to my grandparents and that I lived with my parents, sister and grandparents and all our dogs until I moved out a couple of years ago. The reason I lived with my grandparents was because my grandad had a stroke 20 years ago, when he was 52 years old, which changed his and our lives forever.

Grandad suffered a transient ischemic attack (TIA) in his home, later followed by a major stroke at Peterborough hospital, before being transferred to Addenbrooks hospital. As nan and grandad knew the timelines from his TIA to his major stroke, he was an ideal candidate for a study that one doctor was leading at the hospital, to which he willingly signed up to help. His participation in the study resulted in a number of brain scans and images being taken of the damage caused. 

The major stroke that grandad had resulted in over 50% of his brain dying. Grandad had to learn how to do everything all again, including the simple things like chewing and swallowing without choking on his food. To this day, he is unable to walk far unassisted, he has aphasia and cannot read or write. He has a very limited vocabulary of approximately 50 words and stuffers with partial paralysis down the left hand side of his body. Regardless of all this, he still lives a happy life and is pursuing a number new interests and hobbies he can do independently.

My mum spoke to the Dr back in 2008 who said "If it is some consolation, the research trial he was in resulted in a number of high impact publications. The information obtained from the specialised scans of your [grand]fathers brain during the acute attack has helped enormously our understanding of what happens when parts are deprived of oxygen. This research is now referenced frequently and has led to changes in the time limits of treatment of acute stroke using imaging as a guide. People like your [grand]father are invaluable and their altruism and bravery should be thanked more profusely." 

Working in the field of medical communications I am aware of the number of advancements in stroke therapy that have come to fruition over the years, especially since my grandad had his stroke, and I am keen to raise money for Stroke Association UK to help fund the vital research that is still required within this area. I would love to see more patients reaching better recovery rates and gaining most of their lives back, rather than having to create and build a whole new life like we had to.

As the London Marathon will be my first ever marathon. I'd love to run it and raise money for a charity that is close to my heart.

See the gallery for some pictures of my grandad (aka. cutie) 💜.

See more information from the Stroke Association below: 

The Stroke Association are the UK's leading stroke charity, delivering amazing, life-changing support to over 70,000 stroke survivors and their families each year.Without people raising funds for the Stroke Association they could not provide the support and research that they do. Your donations are so important to rebuilding lives after stroke.Where your support goes:- £80 could allow a a stroke survivor to attend a six week communication computer course- £199 could pay for one hour of Helpline activity- £310 could pay for the initial training and expenses of a befriending volunteer- £1,685 could pay for a fitness coach to provide stroke specific exercise rehabilitation- £40,000 funds a Lectureship Award for stroke doctor, nurse, therapist or scientist for a year- £450,000 fully funds a Priority Programme Award in haemorrhagic stroke, vascular dementia and stroke, or the psychological and cognitive impact of stroke, which would run over the course of 5 years