How one man found his voice again through grit and determination following a stroke

William Patrick

It was in 2022, while working overseas in Jakarta, that William Patrick’s life changed, which would result in him embarking on a journey to recover his voice. The 63-year-old civil engineer began to experience a pain in his right arm. He thought nothing of it and shrugged it off. While making a cup of tea in the office, he tried to pick up the sugar bowl, but he couldn’t grip it. It dropped to the floor. Then came the realisation that he needed to go to the hospital.

William recalls: “The language barrier was difficult however there was a guy nearby in the hospital who spoke English who made it clear to the doctors that I needed medical assistance straight away. They checked my heart and told me they thought I had had a stroke. They kept me in for two days for observation and a week later I was feeling okay and pressed on with life. The doctors told me if I felt unwell again then I should come straight back.”

Just a few weeks later, things took a turn for the worse. William had just finished a round of golf and was sitting in the restaurant with friends after his game. He didn’t feel unwell, but he began to lean to the right side involuntarily. William remembers thinking that he didn’t know what was going on or what was wrong with him. He was put in a taxi and taken to the hospital.

Talking about this experience William remembers: “They started to do all sorts of tests on me, including an MRI scan, X rays and a Cat scan. I had had a proper stroke. He then saw the surgeon in the evening who put a stent in my neck. After the operation, I woke up thinking, good I’m alive but I couldn’t speak.”

William had resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn’t talk again. He was just grateful that he was still living and would deal with the hand he had been dealt with and plough on with his life. The surgeon, however, told William that his voice would come back in time.

For many the idea of having a stroke and not being able to speak again would be enough to sink someone to a new depth they had never sunk to. Not William. This is a man who has travelled the world from Australia, Japan, China, Moscow, to Canada, and South Africa and has dealt with many challenges. While on holiday his appendix burst. He got sepsis in the middle of a jungle but survived.

William told us: “If you give up having hope and purpose, then you have nothing. I believed my doctor that my voice would come back. It would just take time, effort, and determination. I sought help when I got out and returned to London, having spent a month in hospital. I found Lorna and the help and support she has given me has been transformational.

“I couldn’t speak at all when we started our sessions together. She would hold up pictures, I recognized what was in the pictures and would point at them when she would ask, for example where is the boat. I recognized the images and the sounds, but I couldn’t verbalize them.

“Lorna explained to me the process we would go through together and we went through many failures and obstacles, but we always had a laugh, and she kept my spirits high. My positivity and grit have been fundamental.”

Lorna and William have sessions every week and things have slowly improved, and William’s speech is improving and getting stronger every day. He receives a lot of homework to make sure that he keeps on top of things. For example, recently he has had to write an email about a memory, timing the length of time it takes him to complete the task. He is also given certain words to practice his pronunciation.

Commenting on Will’s case, Lorna added; “William presents with dysphasia. People with dysphasia, also known as aphasia, often have trouble with the 4 main ways people understand and use language. These are reading, listening, speaking, typing, or writing. Speaking problems are perhaps the most obvious, and people with aphasia may make mistakes with the words they use. This could be sometimes using the wrong sounds in a word, choosing the wrong word, or putting words together incorrectly. Although aphasia affects a person's ability to communicate, it doesn't affect their intelligence. “

Lorna continues; “William had difficulty accessing the correct sounds in words. This made his speech slow, effortful, with disorganised speech sounds. At the early stages, William knew the word he was trying to say but was unable to assemble the correct speech sounds to say it. He used his mobile to type in the word to ensure his message was being understood. Therapy initially focused on improving William's speech and he has made tremendous gains forward. Although he accepted the difficulties, he faced his determination to make gains has been phenomenal and he has now returned to work. Therapy now focuses on his fluency of speech and literacy skills, and I have no doubt he will continue to make positive progress. He is a remarkable man.”

William has never been frustrated by the process. Yes, he admits it has been a long process, but his brain has always been in great condition and firing on all levels and his resilience and positivity has helped him greatly to get to where he is today. He’s even starting to play golf again, despite his weak hand. The outlook is good, in no small part due to the work he has put in and the support he has received from Lorna, to help him recover from the stroke. He’s found his voice and still has purpose.