Bus driver John Coward, of Workington, suffered a stroke in November last year which left him with weakness down the left-hand side of his body.
To coincide with Stroke Prevention Day tomorrow (Jan 25), John is sharing his story.
The 59-year-old, who lives with his wife, has been helped by North Cumbria Integrated Care’s community stroke rehabilitation team.
John was referred to the Early Supported Stroke Discharge (ESSD) service for rehabilitation and support following discharge from hospital.
The team physiotherapist and occupational therapist worked with John to identify and manage his risk factors for further strokes.
Subsequently, John has now reduced the number of cigarettes he smokes from 20-a-day to five-a-day. John has also reduced his alcohol intake and is much more physically active.
Prior to his stroke, John worked as a bus driver working night shifts. As a result, this meant he wasn’t able to be as physically active as the national recommendations suggest - 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity a week.
The ESSD team initially helped John achieve his goal of being able to go for outdoor walks with his wife. John has now started attending his local gym three times a week using the Fit for All service at the Oval Community Centre in Salterbeck.
In addition, John is attending the ESSD exercise group where he is supported to do exercises and receive education and advice on health and wellbeing following stroke. This will benefit his recovery and provide peer support, sharing experiences with other stroke survivors. With support from the ESSD team, John is hoping to return to work in the next few months but with a more physically active role.
John said: “Without the help from the ESSD Team, my wife and my family, I wouldn’t have got to where I am today. I found the first stages tough, but when I started to get determination and became stronger. I was looking forward to the teams visits.
“I felt the team was exceptional and was pleasantly surprised with the support and advice I received. I’ll be honest, my first solo walk was daunting, but with the encouragement and support I received, I am now walking the dog along the shore and still have goals to progress this further. I couldn’t have done this without their help.”
A stroke is a serious life-threatening medical condition that happens when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off. Some strokes cannot be prevented but many can by making lifestyle changes to avoid problems such as atherosclerosis (narrowing of arteries) and high blood pressure.
Jo Howard, co-ordinator for the Community Stroke Rehab Service at North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust is sharing some advice.
She said: “The best way to help prevent a stroke is to eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and avoid smoking and drinking too much alcohol. Also managing stress is another key strategy in preventing stroke. Other medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol can also increase the risk of stroke so managing these well with help from your doctor is important.”
In North Cumbria, approximately 700 people a year are admitted to hospital with a stroke.
Jo said: “Ideally people need to manage their health and wellbeing as best they can to prevent needing stroke services. There are health professionals such as dietitians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, nurses and doctors who work with people who have suffered a stroke to reduce their risk of further strokes.”
The stroke dietitian can help by identifying ways to improve people’s diet and make more healthy choices. Occupational therapists and physiotherapists can help identify ways people can become more physically active and return to activities and interests after stroke.
They can also sign-post on to other services for support such as stopping smoking and alcohol support services.
The Stroke Association has lots of information on stroke and how to prevent strokes (What can I do to reduce my risk?) and this is a great video explaining how an irregular heart beat can be detected which can be a risk factor for stroke (https://youtu.be/Ip3OIbYsiYM).
The website Blood Pressure UK is great for explaining the importance of managing blood pressure and how to check and get support for any concerns regarding high blood pressure.