THE blissful retirement that former geography teachers John Croft and his wife Rosemary were enjoying was shattered by a stroke.

When John had a stroke in August 2018, it left him unable to walk and forced the couple to make huge changes to their lifestyle.

When Mr Croft woke up on August 9 with numbness in his left arm he then struggled to the bathroom where he collapsed.

Rosemary immediately called 999, which is essential when it is suspected that someone is having a stroke.

A CT scan at Royal United Hospital in Bath confirmed that John had had a haemorrhagic stroke – a bleed on the brain. It was too deep to operate and John was given drugs to stop the bleeding.

He spent a month in the RUH acute stroke unit and then three months in rehabilitation at Chippenham Community Hospital.

In the Croft's case, the couple were obliged to spend a sizeable chunk of their retirement savings to convert the ground floor of their home in Brokerswood, Westbury, so John can live downstairs.

But the emotional and psychological impacts of Mr Croft’s stroke have also had an equal impact on the couple.

John, 69, was diagnosed with PTSD - post-traumatic stress disorder – and both he and Rosemary, 65, have received counselling to help them come to terms with what has happened.

He said: “The awful realisation that you’ve had a stroke and how it will change your life was a terrifying moment. I was very depressed. I burst into tears when I tried to talk to anyone about it.

“If I let myself think too much I get upset. It hits me first thing every day when I wake up and I remember why I can’t get up.”

The Stroke Association says that almost a million people who have survived a stroke have gone on to develop at least one mental health problem.

The Association's Lived Experience of Stroke report is its largest ever survey of people affected by stroke, with over 11,000 people responding.

The charity’s latest findings demonstrate how stroke changes lives in an instant, affecting roles, relationships and jobs.

Mrs Croft says it's essential that people seek help and advice from the Stroke Association, for which their family has raised more than £2,700.

She added: “The stroke has totally disrupted what was our previous very happy lifestyle.

"John is in a wheelchair, now starting to walk with a quadstick. He hasn’t been upstairs since the day of his stroke."

“Straight away we got the builders in. An old garage was turned into a bedroom. A utility room became a wet room.

"Wheelchair accessible doors and outside paths were installed. We live in an old cottage on different levels. Ramps now replace steps between downstairs rooms.

“We had to sell my car and bought a Citroen Berlingo with a ramp for the wheelchair. We had a caravan, which John loved, which they took it in part exchange.

“In the early days you’re very wrapped up with the physical effects of the stroke. It’s only later that the underlying emotional effects hit you."

Mrs Croft said: “John has a vivid recollection of the day. His eyes were closed and it looked like he was unconscious but he was lucid through the whole time, while the neighbours came in to help and then the paramedics. He has had flashbacks about this.

“John gets very upset seeing me have to do everything – things that he would do. There is no aspect of life that has remained the same since the stroke. I still get very tearful. We had several counselling sessions together and I’ve had some on my own.

“We’re a very close family and it has brought us closer still. We’ve also had a lot of community support. Friends and neighbours were amazing in the early days and continue to be so.”

Mr Croft said:“The clinical psychologist Lucy encouraged me to talk about my experience and what I was frightened of. It helped me to realise the position I was in. She was very skilled at pressing the levers to get me talking.