Welsh charity tackles loneliness and isolation caused by stroke

According to the Stroke Association, each year, 7,400 people will have a stroke in Wales and many find the emotional impact of stroke hard to deal with.

Having access to the right information, practical advice and emotional support is vital to help reduce the isolation caused by stroke and improve stroke survivors’ confidence to manage following diagnosis.

Stroke survivor, Heidi Mathews, praises two new initiatives provided by leading charity, the Stroke Association which have helped hugely in her recovery.

Heidi’s life changed completely after a stroke at 47. The mother of three from Crickhowell learned how vital it was to gain support from others who could understand what she was going through.

Heidi said:

“After my stroke, I would sit down on my sofa and cry, looking out of the window and thinking – ‘what do I do now?’”

Heidi’s confidence was boosted after her daughter Grace told her about My Stroke Guide, an online community, where she’d found ways of helping her mum and met other young stroke carers.

Heidi then had the confidence to join the Stroke Association’s Phoenix Project whichoffers café meetings to support Monmouthshire survivors with communication challenges after stroke. She now volunteers to encourage other stroke survivors to become part of their communities once more.

While My Stroke Guide offers online help, the charity’s Wales-wideStroke Community Steps programme, funded by the Big Lottery Fund, helps to create face-to-face connections. It encourages people affected by stroke to come together and organise social events to build local support networks, so that they feel less isolated and have a better recovery.

Heidi added:

“Meeting others affected by stroke has been brilliant and given meaning to my life. It’s so rewarding to see how people begin to feel less isolated and improve their communication skills when we meet up, just as I did.

“Chatting to other stroke survivors on the forums has also really helped me to improve my reading, writing and confidence. I’m slowly improving my speech all the time. It’s good to tell people what you've experienced and tell others to keep on it.”

Llinos Wyn Parry, Interim Director of the Stroke Association in Wales, said:

www.mystrokeguide.comand for Stroke Community Steps, visitwww.stroke.org.uk/communitystepsor call 02920 5244000.