Surrey man devastated by stroke at just 39 backs charity’s awareness campaign

A recruitment specialist from West Molesey who lost his company after he had a stroke aged just 39 is backing a campaign to raise awareness of the milestones in life stroke can take away.

Kevin Redman was dedicated to his recruitment business and was looking forward to building his future. However, the impact of an ischaemic stroke – one caused by a clot – in June last year snatched that from him.

He’s sharing his story as research by the Stroke Association, to mark World Stroke Day on Sunday 29 October, reveals that over half of UK adults think strokes don’t affect young people – yet one in four happens someone of working age.

Now living with fatigue and paralysis on the left side of his body which affects the use of his left arm and hand, Kevin, who lives with his wife, Laura, and two dogs, Bear and Butler, has seen his life change completely.

As he continues in his recovery, he wants more people to understand the impact of stroke at a young age.

Kevin said: “It’s easy to look okay when you’re not okay. The outside world doesn’t understand enough about stroke.

Prior to Kevin’s stroke, Kevin enjoyed an active lifestyle. He played golf, ran and rode his bike regularly. He’d even completed an Ironman Triathlon.

The stroke occurred while he was at an antiques market with his wife.

Kevin said: “It all came over suddenly. I felt really drunk, though I hadn’t been drinking, and collapsed into a stall.

“I’d thought stroke was an old person’s thing, so I sort of assumed I could get through it. Little did I know how damaging stroke is.”

Kevin was initially treated at Chertsey before being rushed to King’s College Hospital where he had a thrombectomy, a remarkable new procedure where blood clots are literally plucked out of the brain. He then needed a craniotomy to release the pressure in his brain and was in a coma for seven days.

When he awoke, he was unable to walk and in disbelief as to what had happened.

Kevin said: “I learned my left side didn’t work, and from there it was intensive care for a week.

“I went to another stroke facility in Chertsey, which was an NHS ward. I think I was on that about a week and then it was decided to get me closer to home. They transported me to Kingston stroke ward. I was there for seven weeks.

“I was incredibly fortunate I had a very good health coverage scheme that allowed me to go to a private neuro rehab facility in Ascot. There I had physio twice a day’’.

Kevin was determined to recovery as quickly as possible, but the impact of stroke was at times overwhelming.

Kevin said: “I think I was in denial for a long time. It takes a blooming long time to process this stuff because you can’t get your head around it all. You start to learn how much the body is controlled by the brain and that’s overwhelming. It’s when the small stuff becomes so stupid. For example, I’ve played golf for a number of years and then suddenly I couldn’t move my left arm.

Kevin says he really focused on his rehabilitation as his drive. He was in a wheelchair for three months, and his physiotherapists were amazed at his progress to walking again.

But when he started to rebuild his life, his fatigue and processing difficulties meant he felt no longer able to run his much-loved business.

Kevin decided to go back to square one and look to work for someone else and has found the support he needed there to get back into the workplace. He started working again this summer with the Oyster Partnership, one of the UK’s leading specialist recruitment consultancies, which is based in Mayfair.

Kevin said: “When I was meeting with my now team before I got the job, my biggest worry was whether people would take a negative view on me because of what had happened.

“Luckily, the people I’ve come to work for are very good. They recognise my skills and have said they will work with me to help me get through this period, and that they will give me time.

On my first day of work, I cried walking through the station because I genuinely never thought I’d walk through the station again to get on the train. It’s a heck of an emotional thing. Everything is a milestone and you’ve got to enjoy those achievements.”

Kevin says there are challenges to being in the workplace with the lasting impact of his stroke and the way it knocked his confidence. However, he is finding ways to adapt with the support of his employer.

Kevin said: “My employer has really helped me to get back into work.”

By sharing his story, Kevin now wants to help more people and employers to understand that a stroke can happen at any age, and that there can be life after stroke.

The Stroke Association is aiming to raise awareness of the support it provides for stroke survivors of any age across the UK, to help rebuild lives and support stroke survivors to achieve their life goals.

Nick O’Donohue, the charity’s associate director for the South East, said: “Our research highlights that people still think stroke is a condition that only affects older people. It’s crucial that we challenge this misconception and make people aware that stroke affects young adults too.

“After a stroke, life changes in a flash. Two thirds of people who survive a stroke find themselves living with a disability. As a result, young stroke survivors are having important milestones and their planned futures stolen from them, while they have to learn to adapt to their new life affected by stroke.”

If you know a stroke survivor of any age, visit stroke.org.uk/worldstrokeday to find out more about support available and ensure they don’t miss out on important life milestones.