I’m Andy. On 15th June 2023 I suffered a intra-cerebral hemorrhage, caused by a rare and little-understood condition, which may have been dormant for several decades.

The hemorrhage caused a stroke and unfortunately resulted in irreparable damage to my brain. I immediately lost sensation, control and coordination of my right arm and developed other weaknesses and numbness down the right side of my body. Emergency neurosurgery treated the root cause of the hemorrhage, preventing further complications and saving my life as I currently know it. But it’s safe to say that the stroke changed my life in an instant. Everything changed and everyone close to me had to stop and change too.

I was a healthy, fit and active man. I am a partner to Jill, father to Ellen, stepdad to Anna. I’m a son, a brother, an uncle, a nephew, a cousin, a friend and a work colleague. I take all of these relationships and responsibilities seriously, and I hope I do a good job, because that’s always what I’m aiming for.

Since returning home from hospital, 8 days after the stroke, it has been my goal to return to something like normal life. I am already back into exercising, I’m working part time and I’m doing my best to keep on top of life’s little (and not so little) tasks - there is still a long way to go as far as recovery is concerned.

But it was the help and support offered by Think Ahead that set me on the right track and gave me the resolve and confidence to move forward and leave the worst of it behind. We’re very lucky in Wigan to have this resource - other parts of the country are far less well catered for when it comes to stroke recovery support. Think Ahead not only help stroke survivors but also the carers and families of those survivors. It’s a wonderful charity and it deserves our help.

So to that end, a motley crew of plucky individuals has agreed to complete a sponsored Walk in Liverpool on Sunday 19th May (join us if you want to!). It’s between 8 and 10 miles around the city’s main sights and tourist spots. This might not seem like a big deal, but when you consider that I couldn’t walk more than 50 yards back in June 2023, the fact that I will be able do it at all is, for me, a very big deal indeed.

Please give generously. Andrew Reynolds