Care Delivered

Not everyone survives a stroke.

A huge thank you to everyone who supported us by setting up a tribute page through our partnership with MuchLoved.

Together during 2023, you helped raise £265,274.64 in memory of your loved ones, all of which will help us to continue supporting stroke survivors and their families.

If you would like a unique way to cherish, share and celebrate the life of someone special, visit: bit.ly/47X0aOw

This International Women’s Day on March 8th will you fundraise to help end domestic abuse? We’ve chosen three of our easiest and most exciting ways to raise money to support our life-saving work. So, with one month to go, which will you choose?

➡️ Freeze for a Fiver

➡️ Quiz Night

➡️ Feminist Film Night

Download our free ready-made packs in one click!

https://www.womensaid.org.uk/get-involved/fundraise/do-your-own-fundraising/

Together, we can prevent another generation of women and girls from experiencing abuse.

Congratulations to the incredible Betty Brussel, a three-time record breaker at the age of 99! 🏊🥇

Born in 1924, Betty first learned to swim in the Holland canals, but it wasn’t until her sixties that she began thinking about competitive swimming.

Now a member of the White Rock Wave Swim Club, Betty regularly competes in swimming events, and what an incredible swimmer she is as over the weekend Betty became a three-time world record holder!

When asked how she felt after winning the 400-metre freestyle and 50-metre backstroke and breaststroke, Betty simply replied, "If I win, I’m happy. But if I have a good time, I’m happier!"

A huge congratulations to you Betty, and here’s to breaking even more world records! 🌊

“On 18 August 2022 my daughter Lily was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. In that moment at A&E, our lives changed forever.

“A diagnosis of type 1 diabetes means that Lily’s pancreas no longer functions as it should. It doesn’t produce insulin to help the body to convert glucose into energy.

“As a result, Lily wears an insulin pump and a continuous blood monitor. She wears these two devices 24/7 and they help to keep her alive. She changes her pump herself every three days and her blood monitor every ten days.

“It’s a relentless process and one that Lily has to do, especially if one of the devices fail. This means carrying spares and changing them when necessary – in the toilets before ballet, on a bench after netball, or in a forest in the middle of winter. Lily’s brave and resilient. She’s much stronger than most adults I know. I’m in awe of her and always will be.

“Diabetes has to be controlled day and night, which means manually counting carbs and calculating how much insulin is required to be input for every single piece of food or drink that enters Lily’s body. She often wants a day off from it all, but there’s no day off with diabetes. A day off can lead to hospital very quickly.

“Since her diagnosis, Lily’s continued with a very active life and lets nothing stand in her way. She was born fierce, and diabetes won’t defeat her positive attitude to life. Lily doesn’t want to live with diabetes and nor does anybody who knows her. We see the arduous impact of this disease on Lily.

“Unfortunately, diabetes is a really underfunded area so finding a cure hasn’t been easy. People in this field are hopeful that with increased research funds, a cure could be possible in Lily’s lifetime. Can you imagine? This would be incredible!

“To help raise money, this year I ran a half marathon for Diabetes UK with friends, raising over £4,000 for this incredible cause. I’m going to raise money every year by challenging myself to do something which requires commitment and effort, just as Lily’s diabetes requires of her.”

Think you’ve got what it takes to follow in Wendy’s footsteps next year? Challenge yourself in 2024 and take on the London Landmarks Half Marathon 👇🏽

https://orlo.uk/5S1tA

“I have many thoughts with my MS and I recently found that poems were a good way of getting them out.”

Steve, who lives with relapsing remitting MS shares a poem he wrote about the things in his life he’s had to say goodbye to.

Read Steve’s poem called ‘I miss you’: https://mssoc.uk/3TSSiu3

Today is just another day.

is made up, but mental health problems aren’t.

Whatever the day, we’re here for you 💙

“Fundraising in Dad’s memory helped me process my grief. It allowed me to just focus on my Dad, nothing else, and to show my thanks for my Dad's life."

Elizabeth's dad, Daniel, sadly passed away aged 77, on Father's day in 2022. He'd had multiple strokes in his life which had a huge impact on his health and his family.

“Dad had strokes before I was born and when I was quite young, so I think he'd always lived a life affected by it. But it wasn’t until 2009 that we saw the affects manifesting."

“I essentially became a young carer, assisting my mum with Dad’s care. Sometimes I didn't go out with my friends because I wanted to stay home with my dad. Or I'd arrive late because I was doing something for him. But it didn't feel like a burden because he was such a great person to be around. "

At this point, the family were still able to make treasured memories together.

"There was still life to live, things to experience. I remember my mum took him to a church camp in Brighton. She was so happy talking about how they were just sitting by the beach eating fish and chips - like something out of a film! We also went to Ghana to see family. It was nice to see him with people he loved.”

But in 2019, Daniel had another stroke which left him bed bound and he was no longer able to walk or speak.

“From then onwards, we put life on hold. We tried to keep living and lots of great things happened. But it was very difficult watching him slowly get worse. He died on Father’s Day 2022.”

Elizabeth, who was very close with her Dad, is now dedicated to fundraising in his memory.

“The 3rd of March 2023 would have been my Dad's 78th birthday, so I decided to walk a thousand steps for every year of his life. 77,000 in total, as a celebration. "

“Knowing that the money and effort was going towards a charity who focus on something that's had a massive impact on my Dad’s life and my life felt great. I want to continue fundraising and I'm trying to think what I'm going to do next year - whether to do another walk or brave the London Marathon! "

If you'd like to raise money in memory of a loved one who has had a stroke, you can sign up to our Stride for Stroke challenge at anytime and walk 1.3 million steps over 130 days, that's a step for each of the 1.3 million stroke survivors in the UK: https://bit.ly/3tPTbcc

You can also read more about Elizabeth's memory walk for her Dad in the latest edition of Stroke News: https://bit.ly/3tC8vt9

We'd like to know, have you had fatigue since your stroke?

Fatigue can happen after any type of stroke, including after a transient ischaemic attack (TIA, or mini-stroke).

Fatigue is different to being tired, it doesn't improve once you've had a rest. If you do experience fatigue, do you feel that this is misunderstood by the people around you?

If you think you have fatigue, it's best to speak to your GP or a therapist, we're also here to support you.💜

This week marks National Grief Awareness Week and we're here to support anyone who's finding things difficult.

We have developed a series of booklets, in partnership with people affected by the loss of a loved one, CF clinicians and social workers, to support families affected by bereavement through cystic fibrosis.
These can all be found on our website.
➡️ https://ow.ly/fAVK50Qf7A2

You can also get in touch with our friendly Helpline on 0300 373 1000 or by emailing [email protected]. While we can’t offer specialist bereavement counselling, we can provide a listening ear and signpost to further sources of support, such as Cruse Bereavement Care or the Samaritans.

Finally, if you’d like to find out more about how you can remember someone special, please email our In Memory Officer, [email protected].

The early symptoms of a heart attack don’t always feel severe.

A squeezing across the chest. A feeling of unease.

It’s never too early to call 999 and describe your symptoms.

https://orlo.uk/qUQ63

The early symptoms of a heart attack don’t always feel severe.

A squeezing across the chest. A feeling of unease.

It’s never too early to call 999 and describe your symptoms.

https://orlo.uk/hR9h5

Friendships are important throughout life, and continue to be important when you have dementia.

Maintaining relationships is an important aspect of maintaining quality of life. Even if memory recall of friends becomes difficult, the positive emotions associated with friends remain 💙

As Lorraine says "They still deserve your company."

Macmillan Cancer Support We do whatever it takes to support people with cancer - emotionally, physically and financially 💚