Scottish stroke survivor who couldn’t walk or talk set to climb ten mountains

A 40-year-old man who suffered a stroke two years ago that left him unable to walk or swallow food is to scale ten mountains culminating in him climbing Ben Nevis to raise money for charity.

Doctors told Chris Robinson that a cough or violent sneeze was the cause of his life-changing stroke which he suffered in November 2018.

Mr Robinson did not experience the typical symptoms – drooping face, slurred speech and weak arms – but instead became dizzy very quickly.

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As he runs his own business and is often very busy, he put his symptoms down to tiredness, but then began to struggle to walk and felt numbness down his right-hand side. He went straight to his GP.

A 40-year-old man who suffered a stroke two years ago that left him unable to walk or swallow food is to scale ten mountains culminating in him climbing Ben Nevis to raise money for charity.A 40-year-old man who suffered a stroke two years ago that left him unable to walk or swallow food is to scale ten mountains culminating in him climbing Ben Nevis to raise money for charity.
A 40-year-old man who suffered a stroke two years ago that left him unable to walk or swallow food is to scale ten mountains culminating in him climbing Ben Nevis to raise money for charity.

Split vein

From there Mr Robinson was sent to hospital and was quickly admitted to the stroke unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. Doctors advised him that he had split a vein in his head, which could have been caused by anything from a cough to a violent sneeze.

They told him it would be a long time before he would be able to walk again. However, Mr Robinson was determined to get back on his feet. After three days he took his first step and has worked tirelessly to get to where he is now. His recovery will culminate in him climbing Scotland’s highest peak, Ben Nevis, two years on from suffering his stroke.

With his beloved blind dog, Rex, by his side, Mr Robinson, plans to conquer the ten peaks over ten months which starting with Bennachie last Sunday.

The epic climbing challenge will help him through his recovery, and he hopes to raise £10,000 for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland.

Mr Robinson, said: “Going from walking one day to not being able to the next was a massive change for me but to be honest I never stopped to focus too much on what I couldn’t do.

‘Ah well, this is me now’

“I was overcome with determination to get back to walking. I put all my energy into getting better and didn’t spend time thinking about what would happen if I didn’t recover.

“When you have a stroke, the easiest thing to do would be to give up and just think ‘ah well, this is me now’, but with a bit of perseverance and in my case stubbornness, you can slowly gain the muscle memory.”

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Jane-Claire Judson, chief executive at Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, said: “Chris is an inspiration; to be taking on such a difficult challenge after being unable to walk just over a year ago is incredible. Chris is the embodiment of no life half lived and what Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland is all about.

“We want people to do more than survive after a stroke, we want them to really live. The money raised from Chris’ challenge will help more stroke survivors and their families rebuild their lives.”

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