10/4/2008

Local News

I always feared it might happen, says Carole

Carole Boyd

ARCHERS actress Carole Boyd spoke about her personal experiences after her husband Patrick suffered a stroke.

Carole first realised something was wrong when Patrick went off to use the toilet but hadn’t come back after a long time.

She decided to check on him and found him slumped to one side.

She said: “At first I thought he was joking, so I asked if he was. He didn’t answer and then I knew he had had a stroke. I rang 999 straight away.

“The paramedics arrived after five minutes and they were wonderful.”

Mrs Boyd talked about how she had always suspected her husband, now 80, might have a stroke because he worked so hard.

He had driven backwards and forwards from the Midlands three times just before he became ill, she said.

She added while she was not really surprised when the stroke happened, at the same time she had not expected it.

Along with the team at the hospital she urged others to be on the look out for warning signs. These can include facial weakness, arm weakness, speech problems or a loss of half of the visual field.

If this happens it is essential to ring 999 straight away as treatment within the first three hours can reduce the risk of brain damage.

First printed in: Woking News and Mail