Garry fundraising for Stroke Association

Garry fundraising for Stroke Association

11 March 2020

TWO years after suffering a stroke at the age of 47, Ballynahinch man Garry Fitzpatrick has not only recovered, but has gone on to raise money for the Stroke Association.

The father of two took part in a recent 10k run in Belfast where he has raised £1,500 so far for the charity which provides specialist support and funds critical research.

The 49 year-old was amongst the top one per cent of fundraisers last month on JustGiving when nearly 400 people from across Northern Ireland ran, jogged or walked for the Stroke Association at the charity’s annual Resolution Run.

Owner of The Autogrid car dealership at Temple, Garry survived a stroke in February, 2018.

Speaking about his ordeal, Garry said: “A few months before my stroke I had been experiencing quite a few dizzy spells. I obviously didn’t know it then but these were warning signs of what was to come. 

“The evening it happened I was out playing pool with my son Dylan. I took another dizzy spell and had to sit down. I pushed through it as I was about to win the game, but I took another dizzy spell while driving home and just managed to get the car pulled over in time and my son Dylan had to take over. 

“By the time I got home I was in a very bad way. Dylan and my wife Gail managed to get me into the house somehow. I could no longer see properly and was unable to walk or talk and then started to be sick.”

His wife then phoned the out-of-hours doctor and was advised to take him straight to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast and not to wait on an ambulance as they suspected it might be a stroke. 

Garry recovered well but says that balance, short-term memory, confidence and emotions were his biggest problems after his stroke.

 “From that point I was taken to hospital, I don’t remember a thing until about two days later,” he explained. “The memory loss was awful. I returned to work after six weeks and I remember feeling so over-whelmed. I couldn’t work the computer in the office. I had trouble remembering where things were or even how to type on the keyboard. 

“I am normally a very confident person — you have to be in my line of work — but I lost that confidence and ability to take control of situations. I really didn’t expect that. If we were out having a meal, I was unable to just get up and pay the bill. My wife had to take over all that kind of thing for a long time.”

Garry is brave enough to admit that one of the more surprising and distressing side-effects was the impact of the stroke on his emotions.

“What surprised me the most was how it affected my emotions,” he said. “I remember coming back to work and I sat down at my desk and just burst in to tears. The stroke really messed with how I control my emotions. Before my stroke I had rarely cried, especially at simple things, but here I was crying whenever someone would just ask how I was.”

Some things that Garry took for granted in his daily work also became a problem that would gradually improve for him as he recovered.

He explained: “I work in the motor trade and found that I was unable to remember a registration plate of a car for more than ten seconds. I told a nurse about this and she said not to worry, that it would come back in about a year.  

“She was right, after about 14 months my memory started to return. It’s got so much better but from time to time there are things that come up and I just don’t remember them at all. Gail and our two sons Dylan and Corey will mention something about holidays or some family memory and I might have no recollection of it at all.”

Garry is full of praise for the care and support he received both in the hospital and afterwards.

He said: “I have to say I couldn’t have been looked after any better by the Stroke Team in the Royal Victoria Hospital Stroke Ward in Belfast or by the community stroke team who came out to my home after I got out of hospital to help with rehabilitation and physiotherapy and to advise me on what to expect in the coming weeks and beyond.”

A keen runner before his stroke, Garry believes that his level of fitness help with his recovery.

However, when he signed up to do the Stroke Association’s Resolution Run, he had no idea he was going to raise so much money.

“I just wanted to do something to help others like me who have had a stroke and are on the road to recovery,” he said.

“I know there are a lot of people who have had strokes and have been affected a lot worse than me. Stroke affects everyone differently and I know how it affected myself, my wife Gail and my two sons. I’m so grateful to them for how they’ve supported me since my stroke. I just want to help in some small way by raising awareness. We think that we’re invincible but when stroke strikes it is just horrendous.”

There are over 38,0000 in Northern Ireland, living with devastating wide-ranging disabilities such as speech difficulties, memory loss and mental health issues. 

The Stroke Association provides specialist support, funds critical research and campaigns to make sure people affected by stroke get the very best care and support to rebuild their lives.

Fundraising manager Paul Montgomery explained: “A stroke happens in the brain, the control centre for who we are and what we can do. Stroke recovery is a marathon, not a sprint, and life after stroke is different for us all, but there is one way we can stand together.

“By taking part in our Resolution Run in Belfast and raising such a fantastic amount of money, Garry has helped us to support stroke 

survivors and their families as they rebuild their lives. I’d like to also thank our sponsors Podium 4 Sport for all their support with this year’s event.”

You can still support Garry’s fundraising by visiting his JustGiving webpage at: https://www.justgiving.com/garry-fitzpatrick-resolution-run-belfast-2020.

For more information about the Resolution Run series, visit www.resolutionrun.org.uk, email resolution@stroke.org.uk or call 0300 330 0740.