Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

In October 2017, I suffered a stroke which initially left me unable to speak, so therefore I would like to fundraise for the Bolton Speech and Language Therapy Department who played a big part in my recovery.

My stroke was considered cryptogenic, with no obvious cause, but is likely due to a PFO; essentially a hole in the heart which was discovered after the fact. This allowed a blood clot to travel through my heart and into my brain. Thankfully I was at home with my family when the stroke occurred, meaning that I got to hospital quickly and treatment was carried out, but I was left with aphasia, meaning that I was unable to speak at all for a time.

Treatment from Bolton Speech and Language Therapy Department commenced once I had returned home and I feel that my twice-weekly sessions enabled me to make good progress. I feel extremely lucky to have recovered well from aphasia as I am conscious that not all others who suffer from this condition are so fortunate.

I was also lucky to have only suffered minor physical effects from the stroke, so as part of my efforts to avoid anything similar happening again, I have started to do more running. As part of this, I am challenging myself to run the Manchester Marathon and hopefully raise some funds for the Speech and Language Therapy Department, so that they can help other people.

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