A part of my skull has been removed to relieve the pressure on my brain.  I lost my language and I had to learn to walk again. I was in The National Hospital for Neurology at Queens Square (London) for five months in all, including rehab. They gave me an electric wheelchair – it was fun whizzing around the hospital!

My parents and friends also took me out in a wheelchair for lunch in Brunswick Square between my many physio, OT and speech therapy sessions – and endless blood tests…

After a brief spell at home (with more therapies and tuition) I was accepted into a Brain Injury Centre in Surrey.  Every day I had speech therapy, OT, physio, and English lessons. I learnt to cook, and I learned to play electric drums with a specially adapted drumstick.

I created sculptures and painted self-portraits. It was residential, but I came home for weekends.  After Banstead I got a residential place at Hereward College in Coventry. This was more focussed on my education. I had English, mathematics, media and photography lessons. By now I knew I wanted to get into film work. I made 3D models, and had more speech therapy and physio. I applied to a school for film in 2011 and my Disabled Student Allowance paid for a notetaker. I began to specialise in editing.  I also directed my own short film. I had a support person/AD to help me communicate as a director. It was an intense experience!

I had a very positive reaction to my graduation film “I Speak” (below). It’s an experimental film about my journey with speech. I entered it for a number of festivals. The film interweaves speech and dance.  There is a link to my film at the bottom of this page. Please watch and share!

Since graduating I have continued to develop my editing skills and have worked on several major and some smaller projects. I have a support person/PA to help me communicate. I have applied for government funding from the Access to Work programme to fund a PA.

The success of “I Speak” encouraged a follow-up called “I Bake”, a near-silent comedy which explores aspects of my life with right-sided weakness. I am beginning to work on a third short film in my trilogy called “I Bleed”.

All of my short films deal with aspects of living with stroke. My learning is on-going as an editor. I love the creativity, emotion and storytelling of film. It’s a tough industry. I find networking hard because of my speech and language difficulties, which affect my confidence. I have contact with two agents but getting work is a slow process. I will keep going!

In terms of my private life I live in a flat near my parents and have a flat-mate. I am a keen Arsenal supporter and am a season ticket holder. I enjoy walking, playing table-tennis, watching films, meeting up with friends and going to gigs. I learned about Different Strokes after my stroke. I use the Different Strokes exercise programme (Level 5) and I benefit from the website.  In terms of advice to those who have recently had a stroke I would say:

Never give up, find something you love and find a way to pursue it. People will help you!  People have helped me every step of the way and continue to do so…”