Stroke victim beats odds to attend granddaughter's wedding

Stroke survivor and grandfather Michael Bradbury, was able to leave hospital just in time to attend the family wedding thanks to the support of the Stroke Association.

Michael, aged 77, from Epworth, faced an uphill battle to attend Emma and Adam's wedding day in July, after a sudden stroke left him in hospital, just over two weeks before the big day. 

Although staff at Scunthorpe General Hospital allowed him to leave for a few hours on the wedding day, the problem of transporting Michael, who was unable to leave his wheel chair, was still a major problem.

Obstacles arose with finding a local taxi company that would accommodate a wheel chair, on that specific date and time while being able to accommodate Michael's unique situation from a health and safety standpoint. 

Thankfully, staff from the Stroke Association, coordinating with the hospital were able to get him to the church on time and ensure he was part of his granddaughter's special day. 

Michael's Wife Gillian, aged 74, was very grateful for the support the family has received and for getting Michael to the wedding,

'Even after the stroke Michael was determined to make the wedding day. Although he was unable to play the organ, as originally planned, he sat as close to it as he could '“ he had the best view.'

'We had a great day and we are very lucky and grateful to the Stroke Association for getting Michael to the ceremony and the staff at the hospital who have taken such good care of him.'

Ingrid Langton, Stroke Support Coordinator at the Stroke Association, who helped get Michael to the wedding said: 'We are so happy that Michael was able to attend the wedding, a day that was two years in the making for the family. I would also like to thank the staff at Scunthorpe General Hospital for ensuring he was safe to attend and Call Connect Bus for getting him there.'

'We help tens of thousands of stroke survivors like Michael and his family through our range of services and free helpline, but we can only do this through the generosity of the public'

A stroke is a brain attack which occurs when blood supply to the brain is cut off, due to a clot or bleeding in the brain. There are more than 100,000 strokes in the UK each year; that is around one stroke every five minutes, while are over 1.2 million people in the UK living with the effects of stroke.