My Stroke Recovery Journey at Northwick Park Hospital

My name is Nick Cole, and this is my personal story of surviving a massive haemorrhagic stroke and rebuilding my life from a hospital bed at Northwick Park’s Regional Rehabilitation Unit. In 2009 my world turned upside down; through months of confusion, recovery and rediscovery I slowly learned how to live again. This page shines a light on that journey: the disorientation, the questions, and the small sparks of hope that helped me find a new sense of purpose. I share my stroke recovery experience to support and guide anyone walking a similar path and offer practical tips for ongoing resilience.

Reminiscence from a hospital bed…

I am sitting in the sun with my bike on my favourite bench up by the Royal Ballet School in Richmond Park, West London. It is late spring in 2009, and I am thinking how fortunate I am to be a 56-year-old, somewhat overweight but otherwise fit chap living within cycling distance of three wonderful London parks – Gunnersbury, Richmond, and Bushy.

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My reverie is brought to an abrupt end by a nurse standing over me, wanting to know my menu choices for the day. It is autumn, and I am in the Regional Rehabilitation Unit (RRU) of Northwick Park Hospital (near Watford, NW London). I am recovering from a massive haemorrhagic stroke I had on 20th June 2009. Menu choices are one of my more difficult daily mental exercises due to my ‘scrambled egg’ brain, as I called it back then. In my past, pre-stroke life as an ICT Project Manager at a West London engineering contractors, I had juggled complex ICT projects in places like Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. Now my toughest daily dilemma was between fresh fruit (my wife Letizia’s recommendation) and plum pudding and custard (my guilty hospital food pleasure).

My initial period in the RRU was spent in total bewilderment. I knew that I’d woken on Saturday, 20th June with a strange numbness in my right side and an inability to stand. I called out for my wife, Letizia, and the last thing I remember was being wheeled around the newel post at the bottom of our stairs, before being loaded into an ambulance and blue-lighted to Charing Cross Hospital.

My memories of my time in Charing Cross Hospital were hazy and broken. I learned later that I’d spent three weeks in an induced coma. I have vague, unpleasant memories of being guarded by a fellow patient from being pestered by another patient who had mental health and personal hygiene issues – but no solid memories.

The first solid memory was travelling in the ambulance from Charing Cross to Northwick Park hospitals, where Letizia and a team of doctors and nurses were waiting to greet me. When the fog gradually lifted, I realised that my life had now irreversibly changed. I knew what I’d been in my past, pre-stroke life, but what was I now? And what did the future hold for me? As the fog lifted from my mind and I started to piece together thoughts of my future life, it seemed to me that I would need guidance to navigate out of my bewildered state. I resolved at that time to document my journey for those who follow me. This website is that document.

Join me on the road to recovery and gain courage and community through shared stories.

Disclaimer:

The information provided on this website is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, the website owner assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, nor for any actions taken based on the content herein. Users should seek appropriate professional guidance before making decisions. Use of this website is at your own risk.

Contact

Email: info@nickcole.net