Wishaw gran hailed 'walking miracle' after stroke battle

Veronica Murphy was celebrating her 70th birthday with her daughter Jacqueline when she noticed her speech was starting to become slurred.

After calling an ambulance, she was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Govan where her condition quickly deteriorated until she was unable to swallow or move the right side of her body.

Veronica said: “It all happened so quickly, one minute I was out enjoying myself and the next I was fighting for my life.

“Thankfully my daughter is a nurse and she spotted that something was going wrong quite quickly. She noticed that I wasn’t making any sense and was struggling to talk properly and called for help.”

Veronica, who is from Wishaw, says that doctors warned that her life was on the line.

Veronica Murphy (Image: Gordon Terris)

She added: “By the time I arrived at hospital, I was drifting in and out of consciousness. It was so worrying for my family because they had no idea if I would pull through or what my recovery would be like.

“They were obviously terrified that I would never walk again. We had no idea what would happen, and the doctors couldn’t say either. It was like a fire had ripped through my brain, causing so much damage on the way.”

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Veronica was transferred to the stoke unit at University Hospital Wishaw where she was selected for a clinical trial and spent the next 10 weeks undergoing intensive physiotherapy.

At first her family couldn’t see any improvement, but then she started to move her fingers.

The mum-of-three explains: “I was determined to give the recovery my all. I worked so hard to regain movement and would spend hours and hours repeating my exercises.

“Once I had movement in my fingers, there was no stopping me. Soon I was able to wave goodbye to my family, then slowly walk with some support. It took time, but seeing I was making progress spurred me on. It was like a miracle to be honest. No one was sure if I’d ever be fully mobile again and yet here I was slowly getting my life back.

“The nursing staff and physio team were incredible, if it wasn’t for their help I wouldn’t be walking today.”

Once Veronica was well enough to leave hospital, she was given a detailed plan to continue her rehabilitation at home.

She explained: “I was assigned a community nurse and physio who worked so hard we me to help me achieve my goals. I set targets of climbing the stairs, making a meal and walking outside, and one by one I ticked them off.”

After her incredible recovery, Veronica is now campaigning for every stroke patient to get access to the life-changing rehabilitation treatment she received.

Her call for action comes after a new report from the Stroke Association urged health boards to urgently deliver on government plans to enhance people’s recovery.

They are pushing for every stroke survivor to leave hospital with a personalised rehabilitation plan, to receive ongoing support and be given six monthly reviews of their needs.

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Veronica said: “If there was more investment in stroke rehabilitation, there would be less people requiring support, enabling them to work and be part of their community. It’s a win-win situation and I hope health boards can get on with delivering this – I would love to look see Scotland lead the way with this.”

Dr Matt Lambert, National Clinical Lead for Stroke and Specialty Advisor to the Chief Medical Officer, explains: “What distinguishes stroke from other neurological conditions is the capacity for recovery. We know that getting the right support, in the right amounts, for as long as it is needed, makes all the difference.”

John Watson, Associate Director for Scotland the Stroke Association, said support after a stroke is a crucial, but under-provided.

He added: "Part of a survivor’s recovery is helping them to regain independence, communicate, return to work and deal with the emotional trauma they have experienced.

“Veronica’s experience shows how access to good rehabilitation can be life changing. Unfortunately, we hear too many stories of patients leaving hospital not knowing what happens next, or where to turn – and that needs to change.”