A family's story

Words of advice and support from a family who have been where you are. 

When we lost Gavin, we knew we wanted his name to live on forever and we knew we wanted to help others. 

Here, we are able to give others advice and signpost families in the right direction, hoping it takes some of the stress away. 

When Gavin had his stroke he was 35 years old and it changed our lives overnight. We didn't have any support, nowhere to turn and had to do all the research ourselves. We were told the devastating results from his scans and that was it. It was as though we were left with this information with no idea what to do next.

It's only through our experiences that we are able to share with you what we know and give this much advice and information. 

Our experience was tough and we feel that this could have been made easier if we all had the support that we so very much needed or at the very least a leaflet with information.

As if having a loved one critically ill wasn't enough, we had to deal with the fact that we had no idea what steps to take next. 

We were never given any information regarding the type of stroke Gavin had suffered, he was never seen by anyone from the stroke team and everything regarding finances was delayed due to us not applying for anything because we didn't know we could or what was available. 

Gavin fought for four years and our mum fought long and hard alongside him trying to get him the help and support he desperately needed. Gavin unfortunately recieved very little help from authorities, plus COVID hit, and the two combined resulted in a huge deterioration in Gavin's recovery. He sadly died, June 17th 2023 aged 39.

Our goal is to be able to provide a space where families can access a variety of different information all in one place and to be able to have information leaflets placed in Day Centres, GP surgeries and Hospitals, available for those that need it. 

Whatever your situation, stay strong, stay determined and don't give up. It's a tough journey ahead but you can do this.