Jeffrey Shaw
My name is Jeffrey Shaw. I am 53 years old and this is my experience of my stroke. On April 24 2003 at 8.30 a.m, I started feeling numb on the right hand side of my body whilst in the toilet. I called for my son Gareth and he helped me to a chair. From that moment, I remember nothing until three and a half weeks later.
Apparently I had a bad bleed on the left hand side of my brain which left me paralysed down the right hand of my body. My children Eryn, 20 years, and Gareth, 18 years, of found this a profound shock. Their mother and my wife, Helen, died in June 2000 from a heart disease called Cardiomyopathy and I was all they had left.
During the first three weeks in hospital my life was under threat on two occasions but I survived to tell the story. I started to respond in the fourth week to the physiotherapy and occupational therapy. I was fed by tube and my speech was poor and I had the dreaded catheter fitted. The doctors then told me and my children that I would end up in a home, this made me even more determined to leave hospital on two feet and going to my house.
After spending 6 weeks in Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey I was transferred to Farnham Hospital, which is a rehab facility that specialises in treating stroke survivors. Now the hard work would begin, I used every facility available to me - the language therapist, the psychiatrist, doctors and nurses, physios and occupational therapists. I arrived at Farnham Hospital on June 16th and left on August 19th. During that period of time I worked very hard to achieve my goals and reached them with the help of the wonderful staff at Farnham Hospital. August 19th was a special day for me and with Eryn and Gareth, I walked out of the hospital and went home as I promised myself and the kids.
I have now been out of hospital four and a half months. My walking is up to a mile in distance and I can reach my local shops. I go to the gym twice a week and work on the right side of my body and everything is slowly falling into place. Sure I have bad days like all stroke survivors but i don't beat myself up. I have many goals for this year but one special goal which is to be kind to myself.
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