At the beginning of 2015, Clodagh Dunlop, Ciara Murray and Lisa Lecky were strangers. Little did they know, later that year, they would all suffer life-changing strokes in their thirties. Read their stories of hope below...
Thanks to our supporters we can offer rehabilitation, help and practical guidance for chest, heart and stroke conditions every day to people like Clodagh, Lisa and Ciara.
Could you make a donation to give the Gift of Hope for a better recovery through our rehabilitation programme and give support to the whole family through Family support visits?
How much would you like to give?
Choose your own donation amount
How much would you like to give?
Clodagh was just 35 when she had a life-changing stroke which resulted in her developing Locked-in Syndrome.
It left her completely paralysed and only able to communicate through a Blinkboard. She spent nearly 8 months in hospital fighting through an experience most people would consider their worst nightmare.
Clodagh says; “When I woke up in the Intensive Care Unit it was a terrifying experience. I couldn’t move a muscle but inside my head I was screaming ‘I’m here!’ I was a prisoner in my own body.”
For almost 3 months Clodagh was unable to move or speak but her mind remained completely alert, and she was fully aware of everything happening around her. Eventually, Clodagh started to show some signs of recovery and was transferred to RABIU where she had to learn to breathe, swallow, walk and talk again. There, in the bed opposite Clodagh’s, was another stroke patient - Lisa Lecky.
Lisa had a stroke aged 37 while 8 weeks pregnant with her daughter Orla.
Lisa says, “When I came round in the Royal Victoria Hospital, I was extremely agitated because my one-year-old son Conor was at home and needed me."
"It was over a month before I was able to see him again, and in all I was in hospital for 6 months, over half of his little life – it was heartbreaking. I was also worried sick about the impact on the baby because of the trauma and the general anaesthetic. Thankfully, Orla was fine.”
“After my stroke, I couldn’t relearn to walk for over a year due to my growing bump, so I had to use a wheelchair. My partner Adam and I had our own home, but we had to move in with my parents so they could care for me and so he could continue to work. My parents were superstars and I’m so thankful, but it was not what I had hoped for at 37 as a young mum – in a wheelchair, not able to look after myself or my babies. It was a horrible time.”
“After I had Orla, I returned to RABIU as an outpatient to continue my physiotherapy. I heard on the grapevine there was another woman there who had had a baby and had a stroke. We met and then we got talking as we had so much in common.”
Ciara was just 32 years old and 36½ weeks pregnant when she suffered a stroke.
Ciara says, “When I had my stroke, my husband John was at work, so I was lying there for seven hours in and out of consciousness. The doctors said if I had been there much longer, the baby or I might not have made it."
"The last thing I remember was being put in an ambulance to the Royal. The next day they removed the clot from my brain and delivered my baby at the same time."
"Then I was put into an induced coma and didn’t wake up for 10 days. When I finally came around, a nurse on the stroke ward broke the news that I’d had a baby boy.”
Ciara’s recovery was just beginning, and it was a long road ahead. "Suddenly I was in the hospital, having to use a hoist, a catheter, a wheelchair, and drink liquid food. I had to relearn to walk, which was so difficult. John would put baby James in his chair and I would follow him down the corridor in tears knowing I had to do it for him."
“When I got the news I had to go to RABIU, I was devastated. I knew I had to do it, to get better for James, but I dreaded being so far away from him again. I would go home to Fermanagh for the weekend on Friday then back up to RABIU in Belfast on Sunday night. On Sunday evenings I would have to tell my family to take James away, because I couldn’t look at him without breaking down.”
“At RABIU, there were poems framed on the walls everywhere by Clodagh Dunlop, and everyone would talk about her. I found out she was a stroke survivor who had just left RABIU shortly before I arrived and I heard all about her journey with Locked-in syndrome. Then I met Lisa. When I would come out of physio, Lisa would be waiting to go in. It was great to have Lisa to talk to, someone in a similarly surreal situation of having a stroke and a newborn!”
Ciara, Clodagh and Lisa exchanged phone numbers and have stayed in touch ever since, sharing experiences and advice, forming a strong and unbreakable bond.
After they left RABIU, all three attended our Post Rehab Exercise Programme (PREP), a physiotherapy-led, community-based course which helps rebuild people’s lives following a stroke.
“When I was discharged, there was a real void in aftercare. You feel you are on your own. Unfortunately it led to me having suicidal thoughts. But into that void came NICHS and their PREP programme.”
“PREP helps you realise there is hope for a future after stroke, and it gently guides you towards that future.”- Clodagh Dunlop
While hearing about people's struggles with stroke break our hearts, the inspiration and awe we feel after they use our services is a unique reward. It’s this gift that makes our job so special and fulfilling – a reward like no other.- Noelene Hughes, Head of Stroke Services
Almost 90% of our income comes from donations, so it’s only thanks to our generous supporters the NICHS Care team can be here to pass on this gift.
Please donate what you can today to help change a life.
Thank you, and Happy Christmas!
At least 80p in every £1 raised or donated is spent delivering our life-changing care and prevention services, as well as funding local research into these illnesses.
How does NICHS spend donations?
Thanks to our loyal supporters we raised more than £3.35 Million last year to support our programmes across Northern Ireland.
£1.39 Million was spent on delivering our care support programmes, £576k was spent on delivering our prevention programmes and £736k on local research into chest, heart and stroke related conditions.
In other words, for every £1 raised, around 80p, went directly to funding our care and prevention programmes as well as research to help fight chest, heart and stroke conditions.
How you can help
Over 335,000 people in Northern Ireland are living with chest, heart and stroke conditions, and these illnesses are responsible for 37% of all adult deaths every year. That's almost 6,000 people. Every day across Northern Ireland 11 people will suffer a stroke and 17 will have a heart attack.
With your support we are able to continue our vital care and prevention work across the community, caring for people who are living with chest, heart and stroke conditions and helping prevent people becoming ill in the first place.
Support us today and help us lead the fight against chest, heart and stroke illnesses across Northern Ireland.
Gift Aid is a scheme that allows charities to reclaim tax on donations made by UK taxpayers.
The scheme allows us to reclaim 25% on qualifying donations and the additional income makes a big difference – enough to fund a local research project.
So please consider gift aiding your donations if you are a UK taxpayer.
If you would like any further help, or have any questions, please contact Supporter Care on 028 9026 6743 or supportercare@nichs.org.uk
The work that we do is only possible because of the generous donations that we receive from our supporters. You are very important to us. Thank you so much for helping us in the care and prevention of chest, heart and stroke illnesses across Northern Ireland.
When you make a donation to Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke, we promise that :
If you have any questions, please contact Supporter Care on 028 9026 6743 or supportercare@nichs.org.uk.
