Birmingham man takes on Mount Snowdon climb after sons stroke at birth

Luke Winwood, 26, from Great Barr, Birmingham is set to climb Mount Snowdon to raise money for the Stroke Association on Saturday 8 September, after his son survived a stroke at birth.

Luke’s son, Harry aged 2, had a stroke a birth. On 23 June 2016, Harry was born at 37 weeks, following an emergency c-section operation. Not long after, Harry turned blue and stopped breathing. He had continuous seizures and had to be revived four times.

Luke said: “I don’t think me and my wife will ever forget the feeling of worry and upset when we saw Harry stop breathing. It was the scariest day of our lives.

The medical staff managed to stabilise baby Harry and ran some tests that revealed he had a stroke caused by blood clot in the brain.

Luke added: ”We were in total shock to find out he had had a stroke - we were oblivious and didn’t even think it was possible for children to have strokes! After many tests, tears and sleepless nights our baby boy began to fight and went from strength to strength until he was finally well enough to come home. To look at him now you would never know how poorly he was when he was born. We are so unbelievably proud of him.

“I’ve always wanted to fundraise for the Stroke Association, to help give something back to all of the amazing stroke survivors out there and to help fund research into childhood strokes.”

Katrin Winstanley, Community and Events Fundraiser at the Stroke Association, said: “A stroke can happen to anyone at any time, including children. There are over 400 childhood strokes a year in the UK, which equals more than one child every day. We’re thrilled Luke is taking on this challenge to raise much needed funds for the Stroke Association’s work and wish him the best of luck climbing Mount Snowdon.

“Stroke can affect children’s psychological and social development and they need specialist care to help them recover and to adapt. With the support of people like Luke, we can reach out to more stroke survivors and their families as they rebuild their lives.”

To sponsor Luke, please visit: www.justgiving.com/luke-winwood1.

For more information about stroke, visit www.stroke.org.uk or call our helpline on 0303 303 3100.