A builder who suffered a stroke said a lack of support led to the breakdown of his marriage. Chris Moon, from Sussex, was only 29 when he experienced a stroke, which affected his ability to read, write and talk. His ten-year marriage to his wife Hannah Moon, was also affected as they felt they lacked support and were left to deal with major issues alone.
Chris, now 37, said: “I had to fight to get back everything that was important to me. “Getting my confidence back with nobody to help you or guide you is impossible. “With reading and writing, it’s not that I have exactly given up, but I have tried so much, even reading kids’ books, and I now have to rely on tech to read a little text at a time.
“I was doing really well with NHS speech therapy – but nine months later it just stopped. They told me I should have only had three months of support. “Even with nine months of support I could only speak 20 words and couldn’t say a proper sentence.
Hannah and Chris say more support is needed for young stroke survivors and for couples (Image: Hannah Moon/PA Wire) “So I couldn’t do any speech therapy, I couldn’t work, I couldn’t say any sentences. I really struggled for well over a year to communicate before finding someone else who could help me. “I felt depressed.
Everyone our age works so it’s not like you can see people. I was desperate to get up and running again.” Chris said as well as feeling there was a limited amount of speech therapy available, .
