An unexpected start to my day

Like too many of us these days, the first thing I do when I come downstairs in the morning is check my phone; text messages, emails, Facebook, the ESPN Sportscenter website (don't ask....).

Only when that is done do I open the curtains, feed the cat and the dog and do all my other early-morning tasks.

Often, the only thing of importance is another rude email from the bank or a message from one of my strokie friends on the west coast of the USA. On Friday, however, one message really shook me out of half-sleep.

It was from a (necessarily anonymous) friend who said that two people very close to her had been forced to deal with stroke in the last couple of weeks. One involved someone suffering a fatal stroke, another person had been left paralysed down their left side (as I was, of course).

My friend was seeking advice, help, details of support groups and so on; it's a scenario I come across all too often. Stroke hits completely unexpectedly and often, the person involved, their family and friends haven't a clue where to turn.

The NHS does its best with limited resources but their focus is on the person who has had the stroke, not their family and friends. Yet these people also find their lives turned upside down in an instant. They may have to give up work/reduce their hours to care for someone, so finance becomes a major issue; they almost certainly don't know where to go for help and advice; they don't know what is going to happen in the long term; they probably don't know what caused the stroke; they don't know what the after-effects (which can be many and varied - every single stroke is different) will be. The stress is enormous. And the one thing survivors are supposed to avoid is stress.

They need someone to talk to and stroke-support groups for carers and survivors are crucial. So often, I come across people who ask if this or that symptom is normal post-stroke - whether it's depression, mood-swings, sensitivity to noise, forgetfulness, fatigue or any one of plenty more. Too many people aren't told what will happen, when it will happen, whether the survivor will get better and how quickly and so on.

Joining support groups or just talking to survivors and carers is an important part of the rehabilitation process. Yet funding for groups like this is, unsurprisingly, not easy to find. Which is why blogs like this and the work so many survivors and carers do in educating others are so important.

I love writing this blog every Wednesday. I'd do it even if no-one was reading it. But messages like that I received on Friday make me realise why I do it.