John Heraty

Mary Heraty in Castlebar, Co. Mayo, speaking about her husband, John.

John a retired psychiatric nurse had his stroke on the 5th of April 2009; he was 60 at the time.  He was a pioneer all his life but unfortunately he was a smoker.

It was a Saturday morning and I had just gotten up to go to work when I heard him call me.  I could hear that his voice was slurred, when I got to him he could just say “get an ambulance - stroke”.   Then he fell.  I could see that his right side had gone weak.

He was taken straight to hospital and he got to see a doctor very quickly in Mayo General but it wasn’t a clot so he couldn’t get the drug treatment.  He had a haemorrhagic stroke.  He spent one week in intensive care, it was touch-in-go for a while, I was called three times to come in because they thought he was dying.

Luckily he stabilised and was put in another ward for 5 weeks.  He doesn’t really remember his time in hospital and he couldn’t speak for the first 6 weeks.  Eventually he could nod his head and then he started to say a few words.  He was moved to the Sacred Heart Hospital in Castlebar to the rehabilitation ward, he stayed there for 8 months and he got some physiotherapy and speech and language therapy, but the hospital is short staffed and needs more therapists. 

Around Christmas last year the doctors decided that his mobility was too bad for him to come home and he had to move to a long stay ward.  There were many reasons for this decision, he has COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) so I couldn’t care for him on my own, I also work full time. 

 

 

After a few months, around March this year, he wanted to do something good – to help others.  So he decided to shave his beard for charity.  He’s had a beard his whole life so it was the first time!  We made up sponsorship cards and distributed them around the local area.  We had a 3 week fundraiser; he even came up to the shopping centre and sold cards.  He managed to raise €6,700 and bought a new walking machine from Sweden for the hospital.  This will help others who are learning how to walk again during their physiotherapy sessions. 

 

 I think it’s fantastic that he is even alive but for him to bring help to others after all he has been through is truly amazing. The staff in the Sacred Heart Hospital are great, every one of them are so good to John.