Cornwall stroke survivor adds his voice to Lost for Words campaign

Cornwall stroke survivor Mark Scarrott, 52, is one of the thousands of people living with communication difficulties after a stroke.

Grandfather of three, Mark, from Saltash, had a severe stroke in 2012 which left him with no speech and limited vision.

Mark was walking to his garage when he collapsed on the floor. His wife quickly called for an ambulance. At hospital, Mark had five more strokes and a heart attack. He spent two weeks in the intensive care unit, and six months in hospital recovering.

Mark said: “I owe a lot of thanks to the hospital’s Early Discharge Team and the Stroke Association for helping me to get my speech back.

“My speech still isn’t perfect; there are some days where it’s really bad, and I find it quite embarrassing. Especially when people think I’m drunk. It’s like being trapped in a thick plastic box – you can see and hear what’s going on, but you’re not really fully there. Everything is a bit vague and muffled and you desperately want to break through the box, but you can’t.

“At the time of my stroke, I really missed out on a huge chunk of two of my grandchildren’s childhood. It’s taken me such a long time to build a bond with them because I couldn’t speak. I was so sad about this, it was heart breaking. I wanted to be the grandad I knew I’d be if it wasn’t for my strokes. With my youngest grandson it’s been a lot better, he was born at the time when my speech started to return. We’ve spent lots of time together and I’ve been there for the special milestones, like his first steps and his first words. Come to think of it, I think we were perhaps saying our first words at the same time!

“Thankfully I have an incredible and supportive family. My wife has been amazing through it all. The local community understand I’ve had a stroke, which makes talking to people on my regular dog walks a lot easier.”

Duncan Goodman, Stroke Association Support Manager at the Stroke Association, said: “After a stroke, around one in three people like Markhave difficulty communicating, which can be both terrifying and isolating. But with the right help and support, many stroke survivors are able to find new ways to communicate, and can rebuild their lives.

“When we first started supporting Mark we knew just how determined he was to communicate with his loved ones again. Since he has been attending our Plymouth Information, Advice and Communication service, he’s gone from strength to strength. I’m so proud of his recovery.”

More than 350,000 people in the UK have aphasia, a communication disability which can be caused by stroke. The Stroke Association is urging people to show their support for stroke survivors who are lost for words and make a donation. For more information, visit www.stroke.org.uk/lostforwords.