​Blackburn stroke survivor raises more than £20,000 for the Stroke Association

A Blackburn man has raised over £20,000 for Stroke Association, after the charity helped him rebuild his life after a stroke.

With the support of his employer QVC, Chris Jolliffe, 50, has taken on a series of fundraising challenges and QVC team members chose the Stroke Association as one of their employee nominated charities of the year during 2019-2020.

Chris, a father-of-three, was inspired to fundraise after surviving a stroke in 2017. He was enjoying a holiday on the Amalfi Coast with his wife Louise, when he woke up on the last day and found he was struggling to speak. Chris continued on to the airport, despite feeling unwell. After attempting to sleep it off when he arrived home, he dialled 111 in the morning and was in Royal Blackburn Hospital within half an hour, where he was told he’d had a stroke.

Chris said: “When we got home I thought it would all be gone and I’d be fine, but of course I wasn’t. I spent four days with the wonderful staff on the stroke ward in hospital and I’ve been extremely lucky. My speech was affected for a while, but it’s now improved and fortunately I haven’t been left with any lasting effects. I returned to work as a senior IT manager for QVC on a phased return, and I’m now back to working full time.”

After his stroke, Chris joined the local couch to 5k group to improve his health and wellbeing. As soon as he was back at work he threw himself into giving something back to the Stroke Association.

Chris successfully nominated the Stroke Association as one of the employee nominated charities of the year at QVC and he helped to coordinate their fundraising activities, including purple themed days, cake sales, Know Your Blood Pressure events and a staff shop sale. The charity of the year initiative raised £16,000 for the Stroke Association.

In addition, Chris has taken on his own fundraising efforts, including taking part in the charity’s Resolution Run events, a half marathon, and inviting friends and family to donate to the charity instead of giving gifts for his 50^th birthday. Most recently, Chris called on his running buddies at Blackburn Road Runners to take on a five mile run wearing purple during Stroke Awareness Month, Make May Purple.

Chris added: “The Stroke Association’s Stroke Recovery Service was there for me after my stroke to help with information and advice. I knew I wanted to give something back. Part of my recovery plan with the Stroke Association was to do regular exercise sessions in the gym with a specialist trainer. These sessions helped me realise I could push myself and I joined the Blackburn Road Runners. I also started to volunteer with the service in Blackburn, visiting other stroke survivors on the ward and at home to show there is life after stroke. I wanted to raise as much as I can for the Stroke Association to help others affected by stroke to get the support they need.”

Maureen Duffy, Support Coordinator at the Stroke Association, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled that Chris and QVC have raised such an incredible amount of money for our charity’s work. No stroke survivor should ever feel abandoned or alone when they leave hospital. A huge thank you to Chris for raising much-needed funds so that we can reach out to even more stroke survivors and helped to rebuild more lives.”

To sponsor Chris, visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/chris-jolliffepurple

Remember the signs of stroke and Act FAST – Face, Arms, Speech, it’s Time to call 999. For more information about stroke, ring the Stroke Helpline on 0303 30 33 100 or visit www.stroke.org.uk.