A Perth couple had to learn to walk and speak again after suffering strokes within three years of each other.
Nancy Barron, 64, collapsed in her home after having a brain clot in September.
Having been with her husband Kevin Giles, 67, when he had a stroke in 2019, and supporting him throughout his recovery, she says she “instantly knew” what was happening.
Nancy, who has been left with aphasia, a speech disorder, says the stroke has “taken away” her voice and her ability to read and write.
She said: “I knew nothing about strokes until Kevin had his three years ago. He was much more affected than I was and was in hospital for seven weeks.
“I was with him the morning it happened, so thankfully I had some idea of what a stroke looks like.
“We’d been for dinner with friends to celebrate Kevin’s birthday. I dozed off watching TV and decided to get ready for bed.
“I couldn’t stand up, I had no strength in my legs. I thought, ‘I can’t be having a stroke’, but I was.”
‘I feel very lucky’
Paramedics took Nancy to the stroke unit at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee and she later spent two weeks at Perth Royal Infirmary, in the same ward that had looked after her husband.
Although she did not need physical rehabilitation, it was clear she had suffered cognitive damage.
Nancy said: “I feel very lucky that all I have been left with is aphasia.
“Kevin had to learn to walk again after his stroke.
“I couldn’t write at first, so I put myself to work.
“I asked my daughter Sarah to get me a notebook and I started copying things out of the newspaper to practise.
“I found it frustrating that I could not write or speak.
“I loved to do crosswords and did the one in the newspaper every day.
“On my first day in hospital, Kevin brought me the newspaper so that I could do the crossword.
“I saw straight away that I had no clue what to do with the crossword – I could read the words, but I couldn’t make sense of them.”
Nancy has since received support from charity Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland, which introduced her to a volunteer called Sam.
She said: “Sam has been amazing. She calls me every week and spends an hour going over my speech, language and numbers.
“She has helped me so much. When I started with Sam, I couldn’t say some words – I really struggled with the letter ‘B’.
“Every week she’d give me a list of words to practise saying and writing. It was brilliant.”
Plea for donations to support patients
She added: “Stroke affects people in so many different ways.
“Kevin and I have experienced that first-hand, but the most important thing to me now is to make sure people don’t miss out on the help they need when they need it most.
“Stroke hit my family twice and took away my voice and my love of reading and writing.
“Your donations mean people like me who are scared and don’t know where to turn can get the help they need.”
Conversation