A LEIGH firefighter who survived a massive stroke will be running the London marathon inspired by his nephew.
Sam Redfern, who works for the London Fire Service, says he “went all floppy” and lost his speech for a short time but it did not cross his mind it was a stroke.
He went to A&E the next day but his tests were normal.
Sam, of Torquay Drive, was referred to a specialist clinic where it was found he had suffered a major stroke and doctors said he was lucky to have survived.
Now two years later and fully recovered Sam will take on the 26-mile race on April 21.
The fire sub officer, 46, has been motivated by the bravery and fundraising efforts of his 12-year-old nephew Ryley Reed, who has experienced multiple strokes and mini-strokes himself.
Sam said: “My nephew Ryley is the reason I’m running.
“This boy, in my opinion, is the bravest, most incredible boy on the planet.”
Young Ryley, who lives with his family in Wales, suffered his first stroke at the age of nine and raised more than £7,500 during the first year of his stroke rehabilitation.
His efforts earned praise from celebrity fitness coach Joe Wicks and an abundance of support from locals in his village of Llangors in the Brecon Beacons.
His strokes are caused by the rare disease Moyamoya syndrome that affects one in a million people in the UK.
This disease causes narrowing of the arteries in the brain.
In February 2022, Ryley underwent a life-saving 10-hour brain surgery to reduce his risk of having another major stroke.
Ryley said: “I’m so thankful to Uncle Sam for doing this and raising awareness for strokes.
“It’s important to raise awareness of stroke so people know it can literally happen to anyone, even kids like me!”
After many weeks of rehabilitation Sam was able to return to work and start running again.
He said: “The stroke consultant was looking at the scan with me, all good, all good, then he suddenly saw the stroke, a left partial infarct, and said, ‘Oh my word, you’ve had a major stroke. You are one very lucky boy, to be talking and walking after that’.
“I know I’m in an extremely fortunate position after my stroke to be alive and to be able to entertain the idea of running a marathon.
“For many stroke survivors the road to recovery is much harder, and there’s a lot could be done to make their lives that bit less difficult.”
Sam will be raising money for Different Strokes, who support stroke survivors.
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