A RedLetter Day

On my second day home I found out that Kingston upon Hull and the East Riding had no stroke service to speak of, but at the time could not take this in, all I wanted was to get as far away from hospital as possible!

I hated the health service, could not trust them and was frightened of having to go back into any hospital. My stroke left me with speech, balance, emotional and a whole lot of psychological problems. Just what it was doing to my wife and family I had no idea at the time.

One fact is certain a stroke effects the carers just as much, if not more at times.

I have to thank two people at this time,Pat (my wife) and Julia Drury (the Stroke Association family support service). Without their help, and saintly patience, this would not have been written.

The first letter I wrote to the hospital was dated the 14 April 1998, and if I had taken the advice people were giving me it would have been my last. But that's not me!

All I knew was that something had to be done. What?, I had no idea, but that first letter was the start of a campaign that would eventually succeed.

In June I went to the OK Stroke Club for the first time, and met three other people who like myself wanted to change the way in which stroke survivors were being treated and sadly had been treated for years.
They were the late Trevor Hattersley (chairman), Dilys Page (secretary) and Sarah Fincham (who has since moved back to Norwich). My brain worked harder that day, than it had for a long time, as ideas began to take shape for a plan of action.

Many letters had already been written from myself to Liz Thomas (manager of medical services at Hull Royal Infirmary). When eventually on the 2 October 1998 we were granted a meeting with the hospital managers. At the meeting we were to discuss my complaint and one of the most important questions in my very first letter.
Why was there no stroke unit in Kingston upon Hull and the East Riding?
This was the first of many doors that would slowly (very slowly!) be opened for us by the hospital trust and the health authority.