News Update:
Rowing stroke
I had been for a fairly intensive training session at the University of Worcester in preparation for the World Row Challenge. It was the 11 December 2006, and unbeknown to me I was about to experience one of the worst Christmases of my life. I had had one of those irritating experiences of a cold waiting in the wings to develop and when I got home I had a bad headache and decided to put myself to bed. I then wanted to use the toilet but no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get out of bed. In the end I managed to get myself onto the floor beside the bed but was still unable to get up. I thought if I could get onto all fours and make my way to the top of the stairs I could get down a couple of steps and then stand.
I realised something was wrong as my left arm was totally limp and I couldn’t move my hand. I then began to feel sick, there was no one else in the house to assist me but eventually my wife returned from the supermarket and I called her upstairs. She, however, was unable to pull me up and decided that the best course of action was to dial 999 and call the paramedics. I then started throwing up.
The ambulance soon arrived and carted me off to Worcestershire Royal Hospital where I was taken into A&E and spent most of the night fighting for my life, while various medical staff discussed my case and stuck various tubes and needles into me.
I was initially diagnosed as having a bad migraine, however the doctor on duty noticed some unusual symptoms and called in the neuro specialist. I had a CT scan and the consultant assigned to me diagnosed a massive cerebral arterial dissection. This basically means that the inner wall of the main artery in my neck that supplies the brain had collapsed in on itself. The bleeding had caused a clot to lodge itself in my brain causing a stroke and complete paralysis of the left-hand side of my body. It had also caused cerebral oedema, or excess fluid causing swelling of the brain, which was causing extreme pressure in my head and meant that I had only a 20 per cent chance of surviving.
The next week was a blur of moving through the Medical Assessment Unit and then to Avon Acute Stroke Unit. I had two MRI scans and a lumbar puncture to determine my progress. As my condition was so fragile, treatment had to be delayed until I was more stable.
Christmas Day dawned and I vaguely remember contemplated my impending departure from this life. I thought the end had come and I vaguely heard the strains of Come All Ye Faithful played by the local Salvation Army band who had been invited into the ward to spread some Christmas cheer.
I am now well and truly alive and kicking. After the first month of my hospital stay my consultant was fairly confident I would stay alive. The second month was a wait to see whether I would regain any mobility in my left hand side. By this time I had been moved to a general ward and was under the care of the marvellous professional expertise of the physiotherapy team.
It took me 101 days to solo row the Atlantic but over 106 to get to a point at which I was able to be discharged from hospital. I am now on a long, hard road to recovery and regaining full mobility. It is my hope, though I hope not a distant one, that one day I will be able to row an ocean boat again.
Regarding the World Row Challenge, sponsorship was still not forthcoming by the time the stroke hit, however, a letter from HRH The Duke of Edinburgh in response to a letter I sent him, was a welcome surprise. Who knows- I could end up being the first stroke survivor to row an ocean or even around the world. WHICH DOES UP THE STAKES SOMEWHAT!
Sponsor my daughter to ride 32 miles in the Thames Bridges Bike Ride on 13 May in aid of the Stroke Association. Visit www.justgiving.com/naynawood
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Meet The World Row Challenge Crew
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Having completed a solo trans-atlantic row in 2004, Richard Wood joined the ranks of only a handful of adventurers with the courage and commitment to complete the challenge
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