Surviving on a diet of hope and music

Mar 10 2008 by Emma Pinch, Liverpool Daily Post

“I wasn’t depressed about it exactly,” he explains. “The walking is something which I just wanted to do and I found, when you worked at it, you could do it. I was down at times. It goes with a stroke and doctors were aware of that.”

Sean doggedly plugged away and milestones began to appear. At first they were small ones, like making a drink for himself.

“A big thing for me was the weekend before he was discharged, seeing him walking a Zimmer up the corridor,” remembers Brenda. “We were all cheering and clapping. All the hard work by the OTs and physiotherapists and speech therapists had paid off.”

On July 16, medics deemed him well enough to leave hospital for home.

It would be nice to report he had made a perfect recovery. But it is still an uphill journey.

"There's the fact that I have some difficulty in talking,” says Sean haltingly.

“Understanding what is being said is a part of it.

“I have lost the sight on the right side of my eye, and I can’t read a newspaper or a book. Before I’d go out and about when I wanted to, now someone helps me.”

But he’s learning to adjust, thanks to some valuable gifts he does have.

When he was in hospital, his 13-year-old granddaughter, Sarah, brought his fiddle into him.

“I said to her ‘pass that thing over here and I will see if I can do it’, ” says Sean. “I was only able to play one or two tunes but I hadn’t lost it.”

It was huge relief, despite the fact that, to his perfectionist’s ear, it doesn’t sound as sharp as before.

“Bringing the tunes to the front of his memory is the tricky part,” according to Brenda.

“I do know I’m not as able as I was, but I know I can enjoy myself,” says Sean.

“Music is a big part of my motivation to keep going, and I’m proud of what I’ve achieved.”

Even with the best intentions, it’s difficult to keep up the momentum achieved in hospital, and that’s where John Hargreaves, from charity Liverpool Crossroads, comes in. He encourages Sean to achieve small but life-changing goals, like walking around the block unaided.

He’s lucky that the Liverpool branch is thriving, and dovetails with the specialist support that Broad Green’s rehabilitation unit offers. It gives carers a break and bridges the gap between life at home and hospital.

“Sean has got that determination,” says John. “If you encourage him, he will make that effort.”

He’s encouraged Sean to become more confident about his fiddle playing and arranged for him to play for 20 clients and workers at Crossroads, and his confidence was boosted by people saying they would never have thought he’d had a stroke.

Since then he’s been booked to play on St Patrick’s Day for child- ren at East Prescot Road Nursery, and he’s looking forward to it.

The message from Sean and his family is that, while life often isn’t the same, there’s still worthwhile life to be had after a stroke.

“At one point, we didn’t think he’d be here today,” says Anne. “We’ve learned we are lucky enough to have some very good help available here that is literally life changing.

“It’s not been easy and you still have to put the effort in, but you’ve always got to have hope.”

emma.pinch@dailypost.co.uk

Anyone could be at risk

* EVERY year, an estimated 150,000 people in the UK have a stroke. Most people affected are over 65, but anyone can have a stroke, including children and even babies.

* A stroke is the third most common cause of death in the UK, and caused when the blood supply to the brain is cut off.

* It is most commonly caused by a blockage: either a cerebral thrombosis – a clot in an artery carrying blood to the brain – or a cerebral embolism, where a blood clot, air bubble or fat globule forms in a blood vessel somewhere else and is carried in the bloodstream to the brain.

* FOR more information on Liverpool crossroads, go to www.liverpoolcrossroads.co.uk