A STROKE survivor from Alton has backed the Stroke Association’s calls for better support for those in recovery.

Emily Nicholls, 41, had to spend £900 on a treadmill to build up her strength at home after discovering she would be at the back of a long queue for NHS physiotherapy.

Emily’s stroke happened on the train home from London in February 2017.

She explained: “I was on the phone to my husband and he kept saying ‘I can’t understand what you’re saying’. I suddenly lost feeling down my right side of my body. My vision then went in my right eye and I knew that there was something really wrong.

“The other passengers helped me and there was a GP who was on the train who was absolutely brilliant.”

Within a couple of hours of hospital treatment her body “started recovering” and her sight came back. “I was really lucky,” she added.

“The really hard bit is when you leave hospital. In the hospital the physiotherapy was great. But when that stops you fall out of the system.”

She believes “there needs to be a better programme for ongoing support, especially for older people”.

For this World Stroke Day (October 29), the charity published new findings that show that 52 per cent of survivors in the South East did not feel they received enough support.

Emily, who works in marketing, has since run a half marathon to raise funds for the Stroke Association. The cause of her stroke has never been established.For more information about stroke and the support services for survivors and carers in Hampshire, visit www.stroke.org.uk or call the Stroke Helpline on 0303 3033 100.