When my husband had a stroke it changed him. Here's how we survived

When my fit, healthy husband had a stroke at 46, the immediate relief of survival gave way to a harsher realization: it fundamentally changes a person. Nick, a father of three, suffered a suspected stroke during a hockey match in February 2020, just as he had opened The Wave, an outdoor surfing center near Bristol, a project that required a £30 million initial investment after years of work. Juliana Hounsfield, an osteopath, notes that years of intense work, four to five hours of sleep, and relentless stress likely took a toll on his body. Doctors initially doubted the stroke, causing delays that allowed the embolism to fragment into 13 smaller clots, prompting a long, turbulent recovery. The event forced the family to rapidly adapt, from arranging care for their children to navigating medical decisions, all while confronting profound changes in Nick’s mood and behavior. Six years on, the couple reflects on how post-stroke anger and shifts in personality affected their family, underscoring the broader, often overlooked human costs of such events.