Improving communications

However not many people know that a third of people who suffer a stroke will be left unable to communicate properly.

With World Stroke Day on Tuesday a Bradford GP is aiming to raise awareness of the condition known as aphasia.

“It is a big problem,” says Dr Matt Fay from Westcliffe Medical Practice.

“It is the silent problem of stroke. People who have suffered the devastation of a stroke are often left unable to communicate properly.

“It doesn’t just mean they can’t talk, it means they can’t understand, They cannot process information like they used to. Society just isn’t aware of the condition and that these people just need a little more of our time and our understanding.

“People will often think they are drunk because they can have slurred speech, or have mental health problems. ”

Sarah Free was a 47 year old accountant when she suffered a stroke out of the blue three years ago.

“My husband was working late and I was in the house on my own. I knew something was happening to me and so I rang my stepdaughter and then passed out.”

Sarah’s stepdaughter called the ambulance and Sarah was taken to Airedale hospital where she remained unconscious for three days.

When she did come round her right hand side was very weak and her speech and writing were affected.

“I was in hospital for four months, having physiotherapy and speech therapy. Everything to do with processing information was affected,” explains Sarah.

“The problem is that when you get back home there just isn’t the money to continue the treatment you need.”

Sarah says her speech has vastly improved, but she gets tired and is frustrated that she can no longer work.

“There is no way I could do the job I did now and that is very frustrating.”

Sarah, from Keighley, has become a volunteer on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

“I help the accountant there. I am really rubbish but he doesn’t mind that I’m slow. It is just a great feeling to be able to go back to some form of work. I am lucky in that respect. Some people are affected by aphasia to a much more extreme extent.”

The Stroke Association says an estimated 367,000 stroke survivors in the UK have aphasia. The condition can affect speech, reading and writing. It is an extremely frustrating and isolating disability, made worse by a general lack of awareness about the condition.

World Stroke Day is October 29. www.stroke.org.uk