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| Alex Cook (R) with girlfriend Anna Lightfoot |
Twenty-three-year-old, ex-support worker, Alex Cook from Dodworth, Barnsley, had not cut his hair since suffering a near fatal stroke two years ago.
“My hair was getting ridiculously long, I used to get it stuck in zips and even in car doors.
“I knew it’d be a waste to just have it cut and then thrown in the bin when the Little Princess Trust could use it to make an amazing wig for an ill child.”
By encouraging his friends and family to sponsor him, Alex raised £1207 to help the charity that have gifted wigs to over 4,000 children.
Alex was 21-years-old and working at a disabled client’s house when the stroke hit.
Luckily his colleague recognised the symptoms and rang for an ambulance.
He spent several months in and out of Barnsley General Hospital with doctors doubtful that he would ever walk again.
“I was paralysed from the waist down,” said Alex, “I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t talk, I was a completely blank slate.”
After numerous sessions of specilaised therapy Alex made progress, eventually regaining the majority of his movement and speech.
He now runs Chilli-Vintage, a clothing shop, in Barnsley town centre.
“It was a slow process and I’m still working on it even now. My speech can let me down as my words sometimes escape me.”
Figures from the Stroke Association show that the number of working age people having strokes has risen by over 25% worldwide in the last decade.
People under the age of 45 now make up 15% of all stroke victims.
Most doctors blame the increase on people’s unhealthy lifestyles.
Alex’s mum Debbie is a senior nurse and she urges everyone to learn the signs of a stroke as it could help save a life - just like it did with her son’s.
“Alex seemed perfectly healthy before the stroke hit,” said Debbie, “I'm just glad his work-mate was aware of the FAST system of detecting a stroke. It’s crucial that everyone can recognise those symptoms.”
Since the Act FAST campaign started in 2009 over 41,000 people who have had strokes have been treated by doctors within the vital three hour window.
Research shows that for every minute a stroke victim does not receive medical treatment, they lose two million nerve cells due to their brain’s lack of blood supply. The more cells a person loses, the more likely they are to become permanently disabled.
Debbie said: “I never thought I’d receive a call telling me that my then 21-year-old son was fighting for his life having suffered something we associate with happening to old people.
“We all need to realise that a stroke can happen to anyone, at any age, at any time and when it does we need to act fast.”
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