Stroke Awareness

The club’s guest speaker on 6th March was Battle and former Bexhill Rotarian Harold Lawrence, a well-known person to the club. Harold is a stroke survivor; this time last year he was on a zimmer and had little mobility but he has now made a good recovery albeit with some residual problems. Following the help and support he was given after the episode he decided he wanted to give something back and became a volunteer at the Stroke Association where he has been appointed Ambassador.

Strokes are similar to heart attacks but they are a vein attack and can come in three types, a blockage in a vein, a burst blood vessel in the brain or as a TIA (Transient ischaemic attack) which is a mini stroke caused by temporary disruption to the blood supply in the brain. Strokes can affect people of all ages from babyhood to old age and the UK has the second largest number of strokes in the world with over 100.000 every year, equivalent to one person having a stroke every 5 minutes. The cost to the NHS is £1.2 million a year. The good news is that there are 1.2 million survivors in the UK, double the number 20 years ago.

Local care is excellent with state of the art facilities in the specialist care unit at Eastbourne; but the NHS can only go so far and the medics tell people that they need to “rewire” their brains themselves by exercise and appropriate activities. The support services are very good as well; when he arrived home there were additional banisters on the stairs, chairs and other facilities had been adapted and the team of occupational therapists and physios was brilliant.

In conclusion Harold said that it was not an experience to volunteer for but it was interesting to learn how the brain works, to find out about lack of dignity, what it is to be institutionalised and how much confidence is missing when you return home. But, there are things people can do to help protect themselves from having a stroke; a suitable diet, exercise and regular blood pressure checks bearing in mind that blood pressure can be perfect one day but change completely the next. This is why he believes the Rotary Stroke Awareness days are so important.

Harold has written a book which is in the process of being published, entitled “At a Stroke” it will be available soon. It has a mix of serious and humorous content and the proceeds will help the Stroke Association.

President Dave Miles thanked Harold for his talk and presented him with a donation which will go to help the local association.