A married Co Down couple has opened up about their two year journey of recovery after the husband suffered a stroke.
Matt and Caroline Cooke from Hillsborough say their lives have been turned "upside down" by the sudden blow to Matt's health.
The couple had been enjoying a weekend on the water near Enniskillen in August 2020 when Matt began to feel unwell.
"Matt went to the car and the next thing I was getting missed calls from him. I was still on the boat cleaning up," said Caroline.
"He said, ‘can you help me?’ which was very unusual. I went up to the car and then I noticed he had pretty much fallen over.
He was dizzy, but he wasn’t displaying symptoms of a stroke at that stage - from there, it got gradually worse and I phoned an ambulance.
"They went through the FAST symptoms on the phone with me and during that process, Matt’s face started to droop and that was when I knew it was a stroke.”
Their lives had been changed almost in an instant and Matt, who was 40 at the time, was taken to the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen.
He was transferred via ambulance to the Royal Victoria Hospital, where his condition worsened overnight.
"His brain began to swell, and I got a call on the Monday morning to come in urgently as we needed to decide whether or not to perform an operation - a craniectomy," said Caroline.
"It was absolutely awful and terrifying.”
Matt says the incident still remains a blur for him despite the life-changing nature of it.
“It was very scary when the symptoms began, but by the stage I was in the hospital, I didn’t know much, I was pretty much out of it," he said.
To add to the heartache and worry for the couple, Caroline's visits to Matt were limited by restrictions in place due to the Covid pandemic - at one stage she was only able to get in to see him for one hour per week.
Matt remained in hospital for about a year and when he came round he couldn't speak due to damage to his vocal chords from being intubated.
He was also paralysed on his left side, with activity not coming back to his arm and his left leg only demonstrating partial activity.
It means he can no longer continue his work as a joiner and there have been other side effects too, some unexpected.
"Matt’s long-term memory is amazing, but his short-term memory really suffered," Caroline said.
"He also can’t cry anymore which is one of the stranger effects.
"At the start, he couldn’t remember the days of the week or even do one plus one, so he’s come a long way!”.
When Matt was able to come home in March 2021, a deal for a house had fallen through while he recovered and the couple had to move in with Caroline's parents.
Caroline and her mother looked after Matt for six weeks while they worked to get a care package in place.
It was through that research that Caroline fond the PREP (Post Rehab Exercise Programme) run in Lisburn by the NI Chest, Heart and Stroke charity.
For Matt, who had always been keen on outdoor pursuits, it was a real lifeline and helped with the isolation he had felt initially when returning home and adjusting to life post-stroke.
“It was absolutely the best thing ever," said Caroline.
"It got us both out to do something together and it gave Matt a purpose. He met people of a similar age, people he could talk to who were like him and understood his journey.
"All the volunteers and staff are lovely and make you feel like part of a family and so welcome.
"Matt would be anxious about meeting new people but after the first week he couldn’t wait to go back.”
The couple said their journey had not been an easy one but wanted to reassure people in a similar situation that it does get better.
“Positivity, belief and having hope is so important - everyone’s recovery is different," said Caroline.
"The health professionals might say you won’t recover any further after six months, you’ll plateau, but Matt is still improving now.
"Just believe in yourself and stay positive.”
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