Patricia's story

Patricia worked in a fast paced and demanding job. She was rushed to hospital after collapsing at work where she was diagnosed with a stroke.

Patricia received occupational therapy and physiotherapy in hospital and started to improve physically but she remained frustrated with her speech and felt overwhelmed by her feelings.

Patricia was referred to the psychologist for 1:1 support and attended the recovery college.

“I just couldn’t talk with my friends and family about how I felt, I still don’t like to burden them with it. I find myself putting on a mask to protect them......and me at times....The stroke was such a shock and I am still struggling to accept it but talking with the psychologist really helps and learning new skills to manage some of the challenges has also been helpful....now people say – “you are almost there, you’re almost recovered”, but they don’t understand that the last 5% of recovery is the hardest – my psychologist gets it though....thank you”