“I don’t know what I would have done without them,” explains Brian Sheppard from Ipswich, when talking about the Stroke Working Age Group Suffolk Plus (SWAGS+).
“I lost my wife 18 months before my stroke. After my stroke, I lost all my friends as they didn’t know what to say to me.
“I have more friends now than ever and weirdly, having a stroke was one of the best things that happened to me.”
SWAGS+ meets several times a month, including in the Butterfly Cabin at Ipswich Hospital, on the first Tuesday of every month, between 1.30pm and 3.30pm.
It is open to stroke survivors, as well as their family and friends, and hosts several events from walks to talking groups (online and in person), as well as quizzes and raffles.
Brian Sheppard is back playing the ukelele, having had a stroke
Former electrician Brian, 76, was a keen guitarist – playing in several bands before his stroke.
He is back playing the ukelele and has thanked the care he received at Ipswich Hospital, but also the influence of the SWAGS+ group.
Brian said: “It’s given me back my confidence. I am now a helper in the talk group to support people talk again and I thoroughly enjoy it.
“The most difficult thing for me was acceptance, telling myself something had happened to me. We help others who join the group with that process.”
The group’s chairman is Terry Stannard-Smith whose husband, Adi, had a stroke in 2013, spending five months in hospital between Ipswich Hospital and Addenbrooke’s Hospital – the latter included two weeks in an induced coma due to associated complications.
Adi Stannard-Smith.
Terry said: “Everything is geared towards the survivor but then, being a carer suddenly lands on your lap.
“You don’t know about benefits, the tax system, how to discharge, safe care.
“SWAGS+ provides a support network and safe space for survivors as well as their carers and family.
“Carers can talk to us if they are frightened and we will help them, or signpost them elsewhere, so they can deal with what’s in front of them.
Pam Beatty’s life was turned upside down when her partner Tony suffered a bleed on the brain in 2016.
Pam Beatty
Three-and-a-half months later and when former Ipswich Hospital porter Tony was finally discharged, Pam was left as his full-time carer.
Pam said: “It felt like I had been hit by a truck and I told myself, ‘I can’t do this, I really can’t do it’.
“But I did, supported by other people around me and groups such as SWAGS+.
“Tony passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2021, but I still attend this group as I have made a network of friends.
“We’re not professionals but we all have lived experience and know what we are talking about.”
For more information about SWAGS+ visit the website.
From left: Terry Stannard-Smith, his husband Adi and Pam Beatty.
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