Andy's Stroke

The year started with a shock: I (Andy) collapsed with a major stroke on Sat 19th Jan while drinking my morning coffee, and was unable to move or speak for a couple of days. Fortunately Alisa was watching, the roads were quiet and the ambulance got to us and then took me to St. George's Hospital in record time. Fortunately, after a couple of days things started to improve rapidly.

Apparently, a small part of my brain is now dead. I am convinced it's the part that does the gardening.

I took rehab fairly seriously and have got back to full strength and almost full coordination. Any drop in my running speed probably has more to do with age, food and taking things easy than anything sinister!

Mike's friend Brett at the Ledbury restaurant in Notting Hill sent us an amazing hamper as a get-well-soon gift. Too much Michelin-starred cuising was "enjoyed" by Alisa and her mum while I was in hospital, but they did smuggle me some stuff in, and I got discharged in time to polish off what remained. Thanks, Brett!

We already had a trip to the Alps arranged, scheduled for a few weeks after it happened. I was still very wobbly and in no shape to hurtle down a mountainside, so decided to try cross country for the first time in 30 years! When the doc agreed, but he probably didn't know pistes have corners, which were 'challenging'

I'm now on blood thinners, which make you bruise quite impressively when you fall and land on ice...even despite the layer of padding I had developed in the preceding couple of years.

Alisa had also booked a birthday treat for me - a trip to St. Lucia in late March, where we had honeymooned. My 'balance challenge' was carrying this up 3 floors from the bar without spilling a drop! I highly recommend beach holidays to anyone in the same position - ping pong, pool volleyball, and yoga classes are exactly what you need to get movement skills right again. And it was and ex-Saga hotel, so I actually got to compare stroke stories and medicines with the people on the deck chairs to my left and my right!

After ten weeks very serious focus on getting fit, I was able to trot slowly around my club's end-of-season five-mile handicap.

You're supposed to seek out new challenges for your coordination. So at the end of April, I entered the Southern Vets League 100m, managing to come last - but only by the thickness of a vest - in 15.0 seconds. Any good coach would be horrified by my form, but I'm incredibly grateful and lucky to have ended up 'normal' again, albeit a bit slower. Then again, maybe it's just age!