NI woman Terri Reid remembers dad, Ferris, with charity run after his death following a five year battle after stroke aged 50

Terri Reid, along with her brother, Sam, and sister, Jolene, wants to raise funds and awareness for stroke and heart conditions which is why she is taking part in the upcoming Red Dress Fun Run, this Sunday, February 25, 2024 at Stormont Estate.

This will be Terri’s second time participating in the five-kilometre run or walk event, after she took part last year just three weeks after her father passed away.

Terri, 35, from Holywood, said: “Dad had a major stroke in November 2017 after he fell down the stairs following a heart attack. The news came as a complete shock as he was only 50 years old.

“Dad was in ICU in the Royal Victoria Hospital for six weeks and he was then moved to the stroke ward where he stayed for about a month. The impact of dad’s stroke was very severe - he lost the ability to walk, talk, and the use of the right-hand side of his body.

“He was then transferred to the Regional Acquired Brain Injury Unit at Musgrave Park Hospital for rehab. Dad had two further heart attacks there and after a couple of months he was deemed medically unfit for rehab.

"We were told he only had a two-year life expectancy and would never be able to sit up, to walk, or to talk again which was just devastating, particularly given his age.”

Terri’s family were then faced with a choice no one would want to have to make.

“We were told we had to decide between moving dad to another rehab centre for younger people affected by stroke, or to a care home. The rehab centre was in Newry and because of dad’s life expectancy we wanted to be nearby to be able to spend as much time with him as possible, so dad moved to a care home.”

To everyone’s surprise Ferris stated to show signs of recovery as Terri explains: “ Within the space of a couple of months he was sitting up in bed. He then started, by using just one side of his body, to manoeuvre himself out of bed and into a wheelchair. It was unbelievable after the prognosis we had originally been given. That’s when we got physios, OTs and speech therapists involved again.”

Terri said her father’s progress was intermittent over the next few months but through the speech therapy the family realised he was able to understand a lot more than they had originally thought. “Dad started to make it clear he didn’t want to live in the care home anymore. There was nothing really for him there and he wasn’t able to interact with the other residents. He was also so much younger than everyone else living there and that made him feel very isolated. Dad then moved to a rehab facility in Newtownards in September 2019.”

The move was a positive one for Ferris and he made further progress.

“Dad had the opportunity to do rehab and he also started going to a day centre where he was able to socialise more with people closer to his own age. No one expected him to do so well and amazingly he went back to living in his own place with the support of a care package. He completely defied the odds he had been given which was amazing.”

Terri said Ferris had been living independently for two years when one day his carer phoned to say he was experiencing flu-like symptoms.

“An ambulance was called, and dad was taken into hospital. The next day was my son’s fourth birthday and I got a phone call to say dad had been admitted to ICU and was in a coma. His body was in a really weakened state and he also had heart disease and diabetes.

"He was in ICU for about six weeks which was really hard to watch. His organs were shutting down but when we were chatting to him he would blink for yes and no. Dad’s body was failing and although he was still fighting we thought every day would be his last.”

Ferris once again defied the odds and miraculously pulled through.

“None of us could believe it. The medical team were saying, ‘this shouldn't be happening’. After two months dad was able to return home but sadly, he passed away two days later. I think he just wanted to get back to his own home. He died from a massive heart attack and he was only 55.

“Dad fought an incredible battle for five years and after being told we would only have two more years with him after his stroke it was a blessing to get that time. He was very well loved and is so missed. The fact that dad isn’t around to see his four grandchildren grow up is just heart-breaking.”

Despite their loss, Terri and her brother and sister are thinking of others and how they can help raise heart health awareness.

She said:“What happened to dad has made us all more aware of our health and the risk factors and warning signs that there could be a potential issue. Don’t ignore any potential warning signs, especially if you have any sort of family history of heart illnesses, or any other illnesses.

"My mum also had a stroke at a very young age- she was only in her thirties. That, and what happened to dad, was a massive red flag for the three of us. If anyone ever has any health concerns I would urge them to reach out and seek advice and help.”

You can sign up to the Red Dress Fun Run at www.nichs.org.uk/RedDressFunRun