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‘If dad can learn to walk again, I can run a marathon’: Daughter to run London Marathon for the Stroke Association following dad’s haemorrhage




A Cold Ash man has shared his story after suffering a stroke last year.

Richard Rudgley, 61, had a brain haemorrhage last year while out cycling with a friend.

Richard Rudgley and Isabel Rudgley
Richard Rudgley and Isabel Rudgley

And his daughter Isabel now plans to run the London Marathon on April 21, for the Stroke Association.

Mr Rudgley, a former senior partner at Thatcham Medical Practice, was cycling with is friend Trevor in May 2023 when he suffered a stroke.

The pair were cycling uphill, Mr Rudgley fast in front, when he began to feel dizzy and fell off his bike.

Richard Rudgley
Richard Rudgley

Trevor caught up with him two minutes later and, assuming he’d just been low on sugar, offered Mr Rudgley a chocolate bar – but the situation was far more serious.

Mr Rudgley, aware of what was happening, called the hospital and told them he was having a stroke.

But they couldn’t send an ambulance out for five hours.

Isabel Rudgley
Isabel Rudgley

A driver named Andy stopped by upon seeing Mr Rudgley on the roadside and when he’d heard that the then 60-year-old man was having a stroke, he offered to take him to the hospital.

“The good Samaritan dropped me nearby and I had to walk into the hospital and check myself in,” the father-of-three said.

“I was falling at the reception desk and it was the second person who spoke to me that said it must be a stroke.

Mr Rudgley spent nearly five weeks in the hospital with his children and wife by his side.

“I could not walk. I could not get out of bed on my own,” he said.

Daughter Isabel, who is living in London, cancelled her plans when she heard the news and took the first train home – as did her brother and sister, with one coming from Manchester.

“We did not know what was going to happen,” she said.

“We were told dad can’t talk or move. It was a waiting game.

“It was a big shock to see dad like that.

“There was a close chance of death, the haemorrhage was bad.

“We needed to stay calm to keep him calm.”

The 28-year-old added: “The rehab was important

“With his talking we were saying things like ‘dad said this word today’.

“Whilst he was in hospital we had spare time and I was looking at ways to raise money and awareness.

“I don’t like running but I was motivated and it [London Marathon] is a mental battle.”

“My dad learned to walk again so I can run the marathon.”

Mr Rudgley – who used to cycle regularly and play squash twice a week – is still on the road to recovery, nine months later, and has been exercising by walking around the house, but says the best rehab activity is actually loading the dishwasher.

He even got back on a bike in September and said he fell off twice but also cycled two yards, which was elating.

He said he feels positive for the future of his journey and believes that every stroke patient has a chance of good recovery.

He said he has received an overwhelmingly positive response from everybody around him from former colleagues and patients to friends and family.

He said: “I got hundreds of cards from my patients, wishing me well after my stroke.

“It was amazing.

“My wife Lisa has really supported me since the bleed on the brain and I don’t know how I would have managed without her and my three children.

“She was constantly by my side when I was ill in hospital and since I came home she has given me so much encouragement and challenged me to overcome many barriers.

“This has meant going out socialising and giving me the confidence to face situations as I adjusted to the changes in my life.”

He added: “I feel amazed at how the human body can recover.”

As well as the Stroke Association, Mr Rudgley has thanked charities Speakability and Headway, which have provided incredible support in the form of physio, rehab and support groups.

And the West Berkshire stroke rehab team have been very involved in his recovery too.

Isabel is fundraising in the run up to her marathon challenge and has already raised £2,466 of her £3,000 target.

Her fundraising link is https://rb.gy/itddnp



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