This is from my friend Sharon, who is just amazing…..

A chain of events have led me to the place I am now in. In 2016, I had a job in pharmacuticals which I enjoyed and thought I would be there until I retired which was a good few years away. Then my husband became ill and retired early due to his health which made us think long and hard about our future.

We decided that mortgage free, stress free, countryside, slow pace of life in France was the ideal antidote to ill health, not without cost though as leaving our family was a hard decision to make. But we went ahead and paid the deposit on our dream home, I retired from work which left me feeling a bit lost for a while but our exciting adventure lay ahead of us.

I wanted to spend as much time with the family as possible so we went to stay with our son, his wife and our little grandson in Cambridgeshire. I had retired the week earlier, then at 04:03am on 23^rd August 2016 my life changed dramatically. I woke needing to use the bathroom only to find I was stuck, I was very afraid as I had a pretty good idea of what was happening. I was unable call my husbands name properly although he woke quickly and sat me up. The look of fear on his face confirmed everything for me.

He asked me to raise my arms but only my right side obeyed the command, I had had a stroke. I was terrified however an overwhelming urge to use the bathroom was all absorbing so I was spared from my mind processing what was happening to me.

The ambulance arrived in minutes and I was taken to Kings Lynn stroke unit where a team were waiting for my arrival. After an immediate assessment it was decided that I wouldn’t benefit from Thrombolytic treatment. I received outstanding care in Kings Lynn the stroke ward is filled with some amazing people both staff and patients.

I watched the lady opposite me who got frustrated that she couldn’t read the paper or use her ipad or even remember the right words to use. For myself none of those things applied to me as my stroke occurred on the right side affecting me in more physical ways. My initial assessment gave me a score of zero. I was totally paralyzed on my left side, unable to swallow food without choking nor able to speak coherently, so my family tell me, probably explains why they gave me blank stares when I spoke. The extent of my disability was terrifying but I did feel so much luckier than some of the other patients. I will admit to feeling some pangs of envy when I saw patients much, much older than me walking to the bathroom, not only was walking out of the question but my bladder could only hold a thimbleful.

The physios were so patient, it took 4 of them to help me take my first steps, one of whom was on the floor lifting my foot for each step, I can’t describe the joy I felt the first time she said I had initiated a step on my own. I needed my husband and children to know that everything would be fine. I felt a tremendous amount of guilt that I had made them so sad. My husband was driving to and from Kent to make sure the house was ready for viewings to sell, and my daughters were driving up after work on Friday back to Kent again on Sunday, I know that seeing the children and my little grandson kept me from feeling sorry for myself, I’m sure one of the reasons I was allowed to go home so soon was the consultant knew I had massive support which would help with my recovery.

Once back in Kent the question everyone was asking was: What were we going to do about moving France? There was no doubt in my mind that a stroke was not going to hold us back from our dream. The Medway stroke team were massively supportive they tried to get me as far forward as they possibly could before leaving for our new lives. They came several times a week for physio, I was given a splint for my drop foot and a huge three pronged stick, suddenly I was free to walk to the downstairs cloakroom, I was on the mend. Every day I achieved something I hadn’t been able to do the day before. In the meantime our France purchase was moving on and we sold our Kent house which meant we lived in our caravan through November and most of December. Then just before Christmas we left for France, towing the caravan which was to be our home until we had a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen in our house. I wont pretend its been easy, it hasn’t. Particularly for my husband who had to do a lot for me in the beginning but I was determined to do as much as I could in the house to make it ours which has helped contribute to my recovery. I have found small things can spur me on, I wanted to sit on the grass by the pond with my grandson and throw acorns in the water so I learnt how to get onto the floor and up again, I hope he still wants to do it this summer. Also talking to my friend Kim, who had her stroke just before me, I find inspiring. She is now walking without her stick, I decided I wanted to reach the same point, I needed to build my strength and walk further each day, which I’m now doing.

Some of my friends have said I’m unlucky to have only had a week of retirement before my stroke but I feel so lucky to be alive and having such a wonderful life. I’m learning French, My family come out and visit frequently and I’m not going out for walks with my husband and the dogs. I’ve still got a long road to full recovery, but I couldn’t be happier.