IT TOOK A HEALTH SCARE TO GET THESE THREE WOMEN IN TO THEIR TRAINERS. BUT ONCE THEY’ D EXPERIENCED RUNNING’S LIFE -AFFIRMING BENEFITS, THERE WAS NO STOPPING THE M…

WORDS: LISA JACKSON

HEALTHY FITNESS

“I took up running after having a stroke aged just 35”

Having a stroke at the age of 35 was life-changing,” says Lisa Wright, 43, from Clapham in Bedfordshire. “By that time I was working in IT, but I’d been a nurse for 12 years and had cared for many stroke patients. Suddenly I found myself on the other side of the fence!

“After the stroke I was unable to speak or swallow and had a weakness down my right-hand side. The stroke was caused by a hole in my heart, which was fixed six months afterwards and I was pretty much back to normal physically after eight months. However some issues, such as extreme fatigue and memory loss, persist even now. I have gaps in some of my older memories and I struggle to remember key aspects of my life before the stroke. My short-term memory is not as sharp as before either. If I don’t sleep when my body dictates, I can barely function. I forget words and my speech becomes slurred.

“It took a few years for me to get over the psychological impact of having a stroke at such a young age but, in August 2015, I found myself overweight and unhealthy. It dawned on me then that I was putting myself at increased risk of another stroke or heart problems, so I started using the NHS Couch to 5K app, graduating that November.