‘The perception is that older people get strokes’
By Maurice Garvey
FIVE years ago Derek Cummins was about to set off on a run when he suddenly started to feel something was wrong.
Unable to locate his keys to open the front door, he fumbled his way back into the kitchen and “destroyed the place” attempting to make a coffee.
Matt Burke, Richard Dennehy, Szymon Lazarek, Derek Cummins and John Ormsby
Luckily for Derek, his wife Tracy was home at the time and called an ambulance.
He was taken to hospital after suffering a stroke at the age of 42 – just four years after undergoing a bypass surgery, something he thought was going to be his life’s main “big bang”.
“The perception is that older people get strokes – it’s scary because it’s not always the case,” said Derek (47) a father-of-one, from Clondalkin.
“I lost everything, couldn’t communicate, speak, write, had to re-learn the alphabet, I was a mess. For the first month in Tallaght Hospital, I couldn’t remember too much about it. The pieces of the jigsaw were there but I could not find a way out.”
Discharged from Tallaght Hospital over a month later with Aphasia (language impairment due to brain injury from a stroke), Derek was unsure what lay ahead.
“The main issue was speech. I was given a place in the NRH (Dun Laoghaire) in October 2013, where I focused on speech therapy and that was great. I had to rebuild from the start, got good support but you have to push yourself.”
The NRH felt that Derek would benefit from support at Headway, a charity that helps people with brain injuries.
Joining a choir at Headway proved to be a huge turning point for Derek’s recovery, who lost the ability to listen to music after the stroke.
“I’m not the best singer but I feel part of something in the choir.
“A lot of it is about confidence. Another woman in the choir can’t speak but she sings beautifully,” he said.
Derek wanted to throttle the person who came up with the name Aphasia, because it was a difficult enough understanding simple words again.
“I was under pressure with numbers and always carried a little notebook, and would ask someone to write it down if I couldn’t understand, or I became tired.”
After creating his own notebook from paper cuttings, Derek got help from Headway to get it published.
“I needed to be busy and wanted to help other people in the same situation – the booklet is small and available for free.”
Over the last six months, Derek and two other stroke survivors Richie Dennehy and Szymon Lazarek, organised a benefit night for Headway – which took place at the Waterside Bar in Clondalkin, on Friday, October 19.
He was formerly involved with the Laurels Cycle Charity Crew.
“We wanted to do something for Headway ourselves. This is a hidden disability. I’m not 100 per cent but the key thing is don’t give up.”
