'I was left unable to communicate at 49', Scots paramedic opens up on speech disorder after suffering stroke
A rural Stirling dad has shared his experience of living with a communication disorder after suffering a stroke last year.
Richard Fisher, an air ambulance paramedic with the Scottish Ambulance Service, was left with the language disorder aphasia following a stroke he had in April last year.
Following this, he took part in the Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland (CHSS) aphasia self-management course at the Bellfield Centre, in Stirling.
In more than two decades as a paramedic, Richard has seen his fair share of medical emergencies, but he admits his knowledge of stroke rehabilitation was limited.
When it comes to aphasia – a language disorder often affecting stroke victims – Richard admits his knowledge was even more scarce.
Over the past year, the 49-year-old has become all too familiar with both conditions after suffering a stroke during an overnight stay in London.
Richard stated: "I knew enough about stroke to get someone to A&E as safely as possible. And over the years, I've responded to a lot of calls for people who have had a stroke. But aphasia is not something we learned about when I joined the ambulance service.
"I knew nothing about it until it happened to me. Then I felt as though I'd been cut off from the world because I couldn't communicate the way I used to."
Aphasia can impact speech production, understanding of speech, reading, writing and using numbers.
People suffering from aphasia may exhibit a spectrum of symptoms, with some experiencing one or more, and others dealing with the full range; the extent of impairment can also vary significantly from person-to-person.
After speech and language therapy at Forth Valley Royal Hospital, in Larbert, Richard was referred to Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland to take part in the charity's aphasia self-management course, designed to give stroke survivors the information and resources to help manage the condition themselves.
For Richard, the course was beneficial in helping him understand the condition. It also gave him the opportunity to use his skills to help others find solutions to their communication difficulties.
His wife Mo recalled: "The facilitators set up a WhatsApp group with everyone who was on the course, and they text each other regularly.
"But one of the men said he couldn't text anymore because of aphasia, and he was missing that type of chat with his pals. Richard showed him how to do a voice recording and send that instead, and now a few of them are using that to message people every day."
Mo added: "Those are the sorts of helpful hints that you don't realise are useful until you're with people who can't do what they used to do. The course was so helpful for Richard, who also has dyslexia – the aphasia seems to have supercharged that."
Richard's career as an air ambulance paramedic with the Scottish Ambulance Service has seen him featured on the first series of the Channel 4 show 'Rescue: Extreme Medics'.
Since suffering a stroke, he has not been able to resume work, but is looking forward to a phased return set for early next month.
Although he's eager to rejoin his flying squad, Richard is appreciative of being able to continue contributing to the ambulance service. He remarked: "I need to get back to what is normal. I'm not yet 50. I've got a lot of working years ahead of me before I retire.
"The ambulance service is giving me a talk-to-text tablet that will hopefully deal with any communication issues I face. I can struggle when I'm speaking and people rush to fill the gap, and that's frustrating, so my colleagues will be getting an email telling them to let me finish speaking!
"I didn't know what aphasia was until I got it. In the self management group, we spent a lot of time laughing about the things we struggle with or ended up saying. We were all in the same boat, so it was good to be able to laugh at ourselves."
The CHSS aphasia self-management course aims to inform about aphasia and concentrates on helping people manage difficulties related to communication and other effects of stroke, such as fatigue, stress, and emotional health.
The charity's long-term aim is centred around encouraging self-management by creating resources to help those living with conditions relating to the chest, heart, stroke, or Long Covid to comprehend their condition and pursue the most fulfilling life achievable.
Jackie Slater, CHSS's Aphasia Development Manager, said: "Living with a communication difficulty, such as aphasia, following stroke can lead to feelings of frustration, isolation and loneliness and have a negative impact on mental health.
"That's why CHSS works to provide relevant health information to people living with our conditions, while connecting them to other service users so that they can share experiences and develop skills and confidence.
"Our supported self management course, Living Well with Aphasia, gives stroke survivors the information and resources to help them manage their condition.
"The feedback we've received from participants has been very positive. The course is a supportive, accessible and welcoming environment for people with aphasia, which is vital. It's amazing to see the positive impact it can have on those taking part. Our aim is to make the course accessible across Scotland."
Anyone affected by aphasia can also contact CHSS's Advice Line on 0808 801 0899, email adviceline@chss.org.uk or text ADVICE to 66777.
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