After my stroke ….

“I had my stroke in April 2004. What a time in my life that was !.

The stroke took away my short term memory and the peripheral vision in my left eye. The recovery from my stroke is ongoing but it has been a rocky road to get to this point.

I moved from Dublin to Tullamore to be near my daughter. It was in Tullamore that I first came into contact with Acquired Brain Injury Ireland (formerly the Peter Bradley Foundation). This was one of the brightest days of my recovery.

They introduced me to a weekly meeting with the Occupational Therapist. This was a great way of understanding my brain injury. I met with lots of people who were rowing the same boat as me which was of great help. The group helped me understand my brain injury.

I was assigned a Rehabilitation Assistant (RA) which was the start of my new life. Over time the RA helped me to get from A to B to C, with the aid of instructions written down that I could understand.

With practice I am getting to and from my FAS course which I am doing at the moment. The RA comes to me every Friday. I would not get to where I am today without her.

Marian McHugh
Tullamore