Derek Niblett (Stroke fundraiser)

Hi,

My name is Jake, I’m 25 and I’m from Burnham-on-sea in Somerset.

Unfortunately the morning of Wednesday the 4th of January my dad (Derek)had a minor stroke, this happened while he and my mum (Sarah) were getting ready for work. As I work with my dad I arrived at their house to pick him up for work, as this happened.

My dads face had fell to his right side and his speech was slurred, although he was still able to move his legs and arms, his balance had gone slightly but he was able to walk with me and my mums help.

We tried phoning for an ambulance but decided it would be quicker to drive ourselves so we got him into her car and drove to Weston super-mare general hospital and into the the A&E department. We were there for 6 hours while the doctors and nurses ran tests to find out what had happened.

While we were in the A&E waiting room, the nurses gave my dad some Aspirin which helped as he had been complaining of quite a bad headache. He gradually improved after this and his face started to return to normal and he was able to speak a lot more clearly. He was also up and walking round without help, which was great to see.

The stroke clinicians and nurses reviewed his tests results and consulted with him and and my mum and decided that he was good to go and said there were no signs of a stroke. Unfortunately they did not proceed with an MRI scan.

We kept a close eye on him in the afternoon/evening once we got him home and made sure we was resting. I then left to go back to my house and told my mum to ring me if there was any change in him. My sister (Livvy) then visited him after work in the evening and said he looked okay and he said he was feeling better but just tired.

The next morning of the 5th of January I received a call from my mum at 5:15 am. Unfortunately my dad had another stroke and this time it was more severe than the previous morning. My mum had felt him trying to roll over in bed and heard grunting noises from him, she woke and turned a light on to find that the right side of his face had fallen again, however he was not able to speak at all and had lost all motion in his body. My mum phoned an ambulance immediately before calling me and a first response medic arrived and shortly after an ambulance.

My mum had phoned on our way and said they were taking my dad to Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton and we met them there.

The doctors and nurses were fantastic and got all the appropriate tests and procedures done quickly to find out what caused his stroke. Unfortunately tests revealed that my dad has 2 bleeds/clots on his brain, and some in his neck. The doctors and nurses consulted with a team in Southmead hospital in Bristol, and decided his treatment would be best carried out there.

While we were in Musgrove park hospital, my mum, sister and myself were able to go in and sit on the emergency ward with him.

When he saw me and my sister he began to cry and was very upset, he still couldn’t speak but had regained motion in his left arm and left leg. We both gave him a hug and didn’t leave his or my mums side while on the ward.

He could understand who we were and hear what we were telling him, he understood everything and we could see this in his eyes and his left side of his face. He kept raising his eyebrow and trying to smile at us as we were talking to him.

The ambulance arrived quite quickly to get him to Bristol. They got him into an A&E ward, while they ran some more tests and gave him a large amount of Aspirin to make the blood less sticky, this is in the hope it will help shift the 2 clots to his brain and neck. The nurses and doctors then moved him upstairs into the stroke department where he has begun making progress.

He is now able to move both legs and started to regain feeling in his right arm, which is a very positive sign. He had also said my mums name and been able to say “yeah” a couple of times. The nurses and my mum are pushing him quite hard to start talking or even grunting to get his vocal cords moving. As the day went on we could all see a gradual increase in his abilities and the nurses are happy with his progress. He is learning to swallow again and working with speech therapist and physios.

My mum has been allowed to stay over night with him and we have visited him everyday since, trying to help him with his recovery. My mum has kept us updated through each night and he has been settled. She has been his rock through the whole of this and has literally not left his side since this has happened.

On the whole, this has been a devastating time for my dad, mum and the rest of our family and friends.

My dad is a qualified carpenter and joiner and I pursued the same career. I love working with my dad, he’s one of my best friends and he’s taught me everything I know. I’ve seen him be able to turn his hand to most things and I’ve seen how hard he works. He started his own little business from scratch and has kept it going through many crisis and has just had sheer determination to get jobs done and meet any customers needs. Always. He has had many of his customers from a young age in Burnham-on-sea and we rarely leave our local area for work. He has built up a friendly and well respected building business and is one of the best people that I have ever met. He would do anything for anyone no matter day or time, he always makes it work and customers have always expressed the same opinion and friendships with him. However he will unfortunately not be able to work for some time.

I will be looking to finish off any on going jobs and jobs booked in to try and generate funds for them, however I am also aware that my mum will be taking time off at her work to look after my dad through rehabilitation.

I am fully aware that this could take time but I do believe he has that same strength and determination to do it. However with him being self employed I don’t want him to have a financial burden hanging over his head and to be worrying about the business he worked so hard to build. I have been lost as to what to do, being honest.

This brings me onto why I have setup a go-fund me page, I understand given the current financial climate that donations are hard to ask for but any donation would be greatly appreciated, if you can.

I understand this has been a bit of an essay and my dad, mum and family will really appreciate it if you have taken time from your day to read this.

Many thanks,

Jake Niblett