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Shocking Reality Of Stroke In Young People

Monday 5 September 2005

Northern Ireland’s top stroke charity, the Northern Ireland Chest, Heart and Stroke Association, is appealing to employers to have more consideration for younger people with the condition.

Northern Ireland’s top stroke charity, the Northern Ireland Chest, Heart and Stroke Association, is appealing to employers to have more consideration for younger people with the condition.

More and more people under the age of 60 are suffering stroke - and one of the biggest problems is getting back to work.

Martin McLoughlin, a Deputy County Court Judge and solicitor, had a stroke three years ago at the age of 51. Martin, who lives in Belfast, has not worked since, and admits that he has had no job offers. He has undergone studies to establish if he can return to his job in the courts, but has yet to hear the results.

“My rehabilitation is still happening,” he says, “and I have to admit that I have encountered stigma about the fact that I have had a stroke. My speech is affected, and although I have not had any direct discrimination, I know that it happens. I also accept that my career involves speaking skills, but people can often get the impression that you are drunk because you find difficulty in forming words.” He has been appointed to the NICHSA’s ruling Council.

Jim Nash, from Kilfennan in Londonderry, used to travel Europe on behalf of Dupont, sorting out complaints and quality issues. Now, the father of two, who suffered his stroke at the age of 35 in 2002, is just beginning to see light at the end of a dark tunnel. “Everything was affected,” he says. “The limbs on my left hand side, organs, and my sight. For six months I pretended that it hadn’t happened. There are days when I just want to sit in a corner, but I know that I have to fight back. I can’t see any time in the short term when I will return to work, but in the meantime I’m working as a volunteer with the Chest, Heart and Stroke Association, talking to people who have just suffered a stroke and giving them advice.”

The Association’s Stroke Awareness Week, from 5 to 9 September, is designed to alert people to the difficulties of the condition.

The charity’s Director of Health, Myrtle Neill, said: “Most people in Northern Ireland don’t appreciate the seriousness of stroke in younger people. It involves loss of earnings, loss of self-esteem, depression, and the knowledge that you are in a club whose members are often 30 years older than yourself.
“We are doing all we can, with several projects aimed at helping young stroke survivors, but nothing will change unless society adapts its attitude.

“Young stroke survivors have a great deal to contribute, but not enough people or employers recognise that. If you could imagine that everyone you meet during the course of a day assumes that you have been drinking, then you have about ten per cent understanding of what it’s like to be a stroke survivor.”

The NICHSA runs stroke services throughout Northern Ireland, including three pioneering projects for younger sufferers.

Ends

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