From nightmares to Dreamland

Grandfather of nine, Alan Stewart, 68, had everything to live for when he suffered a major stroke in June 2024.

Sitting in his Margate garden with his wife, Jan, enjoying their morning cuppa and planning to trim the conifers, his face suddenly dropped. Jan explained, “He slumped over, and I knew it was a stroke because I’d seen the adverts about it.”

After a panicked 999 call, paramedics rushed to the scene and video-called a stroke consultant who diagnosed a blood clot on the left side of his brain. “It all happened so fast,” said Jan. “He was blue-lighted to a specialist hospital in London. I sat up, staring at the phone, willing it to ring.”

At 3:30 a.m., the hospital called to say Alan had undergone surgery and would be transferred to Kent and Canterbury Hospital that morning. Jan recalled, “I arrived at 7 a.m. in a haze. It was just 24 hours later, but he was lying in bed, his body a shell. He needed a hoist to be moved, couldn’t grip anything, speak properly, or feed himself.”

Alan remembered, “I was trapped. Sometimes I needed the toilet so desperately, but I couldn’t get the words out to ask. It’s the most frightening feeling.”

The couple’s sense of helplessness deepened after Alan suffered another stroke just one month later. “The worst thing was the night terrors,” Alan said. “The visions were horrifying and so real.”

Jan explained, “His nightmares were so intense that he couldn’t tell reality from his dreams. Alan had been so strong before this, so seeing him writhe in terror was awful. He was the kind of man who could turn his hand to any task – from cutting trees to laying paving – but he was also emotionally strong. He was my constant source of support.”

“I’d think back to the day we fell in love, in 1999. We were in London, and he held my hand so tenderly to cross a busy road. I always joked he’d ‘never let it go.’ There I was, 26 years later, my hand clasped in his, willing him to grip it back again.”

Alan with wife Jan

While in hospital, Alan became confused, phoning Jan in the early hours, thinking it was visiting time. “I’d have to stay calm and explain it was the middle of the night. I’d click down the receiver and just cry,” Jan said.

As part of his recovery, Alan was transferred from Canterbury to the Westbrook Stroke Rehabilitation Unit in Margate. Jan said, “The Westbrook staff gave us a rapturous welcome. It was as if Alan was the centre of their world, even though they had only just met him. He just sat there, taking it all in, and then he said, ‘I think I’m going to like it here.’ Well, after that, we were all in tears.”

Alan’s physical strength began to improve. Jan recalled, “Despite the progress, I couldn’t even imagine normality – walking down Margate beach hand-in-hand, going on holiday, laughing with the grandchildren. But arriving at Westbrook to that welcome, I felt a glimmer of hope.”

Alan said, “I had one-to-one support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The activities were challenging but fun, and Jan was welcome to visit me all the time. My fear quickly lifted, and I stopped having bad dreams.”

The approach on the specialist ward, called ‘the Westbrook Way’ by the team, puts service users at the heart of their rehabilitation with one-to-one and group therapy, as well as setting achievable goals.

“It was tiny steps,” Alan said. “Going up the stairs sideways, turning on the walking rails, feeding myself. The staff would celebrate every small win, and you know what? It works miracles. I call them ‘my angels.’ I hit my targets.”

Jan remembered, “One morning, I arrived to see him walking with his tri-cane. The team were cheering. That’s how things were at Westbrook – every milestone meant the world.”

Alan left the unit at the end of July, but the pair can’t keep away, visiting every fortnight armed with cakes or homemade sausage rolls, cheering on other patients as they work toward their goals. He said, “I say, look at me – I was in a wheelchair. But I also say, you only get back what you put in – it starts with you.”

To thank the team, Alan and Jan planned a charity ‘wheelchair whizz’ last September. Joined by Westbrook staff and family, the group “whizzed” from Westbrook House to the Mechanical Elephant pub in Margate, raising more than £700 for the charity i care. The funds will go directly to Westbrook. Alan added, “We had sparkly wigs on and music blaring out. We certainly made some noise about Westbrook!”

The pair takes each day at a time, with some good days and some more challenging ones. Jan admits, “Your life is upended after a stroke, but now we feel brave enough to look forward and face the future.”

Help Alan raise vital funds on our Westbrook House Just Giving Page.