​Houghton-le-Spring mother calls on residents to find their festive spirit

Opening Christmas presents is the favourite Christmas activity for people living in the North East (60%), according to a new survey by the Stroke Association.⁽ⁱ⁾

The charity has found that the region’s favourite activities at Christmas time also include cooking Christmas dinner (48%) and decorating the tree (44%).

Yet many of the UK’s 1.2 million stroke survivors are no longer able to enjoy these and many other Christmas pleasures.⁽ⁱⁱ⁾

For well over a third of stroke survivors (39%), the effects of their stroke will mean that this Christmas they will be unable to play with the kids or grandkids, decorate the tree, and cook or help to cook the Christmas dinner.

One in five stroke survivors won’t even be able to wish their friends and loved ones a “Merry Christmas” due to problems with their communication.

For brave Corey Adey, 8 from Houghton-le-Spring, Christmas will be a low key event this year, as he has a rare brain condition which means he has a mini-stroke whenever he gets excited or tired.

Corey’s life changed forever one day in August 2018 when he came home from school and told his mum his arm felt strange. He went to sleep and it took his parents Jade, 29, and Andrew Adey, 30, more than 30 minutes to wake him. Hospital CT scans showed he had abnormalities on his brain and he was diagnosed with MoyaMoya disease. His family was also told he’d had a stroke and multiple mini-strokes called transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs). Since then, he’s had two more strokes and has around 1-5 mini strokes each week.

With Christmas one of the most exciting times of year for children, Corey’s family will be doing their best to keep him as calm as possible and reduce his risk of having another stroke.

Jade said: “Over the last couple of years Christmas has changed so much for us. All the family used to get together and we’d have a full packed house, but now because of Corey’s condition try to keep everything as low key as possible. We usually go and visit lots of family over Christmas, but now we need to start thinking about having Corey calmed down ready for bed from around 8pm. Now, we try and keep everything as chilled and quiet as possible. That’s what we did last year and it worked well.

“I’m actually a little apprehensive and quite worried because Corey wants a Nintendo Switch for Christmas, and I don’t know what’s going to happen when he sees it as I know he’ll be so excited!

“Corey always decorates the tree, then when he goes to bed I re-decorate it! He also have lots of Christmas parties coming up and a Christmas fair at school, as well as pantomimes on our street. We’ll take him there and want to get into the spirit but keep it as calm as possible for him.”

Kate Charles, Regional Director at the Stroke Association, said: “Christmas is a special time to enjoy with family and friends, but for thousands of people stroke will have had turned their lives upside down. That’s because stroke happens in the brain, the control centre of who we are and what we can do. The impact varies depending on which part of the brain is affected. It could be anything from wiping out your speech and physical abilities, to affecting your emotions and personality.

“The Stroke Association helps people to rebuild their lives after stroke, but we cannot do this without your support.

“This Christmas we want to highlight the challenges that stroke survivors face as they struggle to take part in the activities we cherish the most, from putting the Christmas Fairy on top of the tree to cooking Christmas Dinner or playing with their children and grandchildren.

“For those survivors whose stroke has left them with speech and communication difficulties, even the simple pleasure of wishing someone a Merry Christmas has been taken away.

“The Stroke Association supports more than 70,000 people as they rebuild their lives after stroke but we can’t do this alone. Donations to our Christmas Appeal can help more stroke survivors like Corey to get the vital support they need to rebuild their lives. Please donate now at stroke.org.uk/gifts.”

To donate to the Stroke Association’s Christmas Appeal and help support stroke survivors to rebuild their lives visit stroke.org.uk/gifts