TV PRESENTER Chris Tarrant is urging people to ‘Give a Hand’ at the end of the month – to raise awareness about the devastating impact of strokes.
Last year Chris, 69, suffered a stroke while on a 14-hour flight from Bangkok to London.
It left him without the use of an arm and a leg, but now he is as fit as a fiddle.
“I’m one of the lucky ones,” he said. “Three quarters of all stroke survivors temporarily or indefinitely lose one of their arms or hands. In my case the full arm and the leg went and I had to learn all over again how to use them.
“It sounds pathetic but I couldn’t even clean my teeth. Limping to the bathroom, I could see in the mirror that I had this bright white nose with toothpaste all over it. I just couldn’t work out where my mouth was. I figured out this technique to hold the brush still and move my head up and down. It worked.”
Speaking on BBC Radio Merseyside’s Sean Styles show, Chris said that he used to think that strokes just happened to a few very old people.
“I’ve since learned that strokes are incredibly common and that 80 per cent don’t need to happen.
“Mine didn’t need to happen. When I asked my consultant why it happened he said ‘Excess, excess, excess … and then a bit of excess.’
“I’m a classic case. I thought I was indestructible.”
Chris was returning home after filming for his popular Channel 5 series Extreme Railways.
“I thought it was cramp. I slipped a bit as I was getting onto plane, then had a bit of dinner and stuff and then I remember trying to stand up and my leg went underneath me and my arm went funny.
“Slowly the penny began to drop … maybe I was having a stroke. It was at that point that I was scared. It was the longest night of my life. I just couldn’t wait to get down at Heathrow. There was a period when I was up there that I thought I was going to die.”
Chris has now become an ambassador of The Stroke Association and is drumming up support for their latest awareness-raising event.
“We want people to use their wrong hand for a day an hour a week, a month whatever to raise awareness about strokes,” said Chris.
“Before my stroke I had no idea that somebody in the UK has a stroke every three and a half minutes every day, and that one in three die, one in three become disabled, and that one in three survive totally without further problems – I’m one of the lucky ones. I am completely sorted.”
Chris is also taking part in the event.
“I’m fishing for a week using my wrong hand,” he said, “which probably won’t make any difference to the fish.
“One well known DJ will also be using his wrong hand playing the discs for a week.
“I’m dying to get a darts team to do it too, but it will probably not be a great night to go to the pub!”
To Give a Hand simply visit the campaign website, select your activity of choice and order or download the activity pack.
The event runs from October 26 – November 1
