9:50am Thursday 7th August 2008
By Alexandra Barham
A STROKE club in St Albans has praised a revolutionary new drug which stimulated the speedy recovery of a man left paralysed by the illness.
Lawrence Crofton, of the Haldens, Welwyn Garden City, was on his way to visit friends in St Albans when he collapsed after losing all feeling in his arms and legs as a result of a blood clot in the brain.
But within hours of arriving at the QEII Hospital, the 55-year-old was feeling as fit as a fiddle, having been treated with a new clot busting drug called Thrombolysis.
A scan carried out following the treatment revealed the clot blocking an artery in Lawrence’s brain had disappeared.
Amazingly, just two days after being rushed to hospital the dad-of-four, who has acquired the nickname “Jesus Christ” since his extraordinary recovery, was discharged.
Joan Towel, chairman of the St Albans and Harpenden Stroke Club, said: “One of the members of the club suffered a severe stroke 23 years ago.
“He’s been unable to speak since then, he’s partially paralysed and now he’s reliant on a wheelchair.
“If he’d had that sort of treatment it would have transformed his life and the lives of his wife and family.”
Recounting his terrifying ordeal, Lawrence said he was travelling to St Albans to meet friends when he suddenly began experiencing difficulties with his speech.
He started to feel wobbly and so stopped for a rest in a pub. It was here that his legs buckled beneath him and paramedics were called.
“It was terrifying,” he said.
”When the paramedics arrived I had no feeling in my left leg and arm and could barely speak. I sounded like I’d had a few too many to drink.”
Speaking about his dramatic recovery, Lawrence, who was the first stroke victim in east and north Hertfordshire to receive the treatment, said: “I honestly thought that was it for me or at best I’d be in a wheelchair for life but the turnaround was amazing.
“I literally went from having all those nightmares running through my head one minute to feeling right as rain. It truly is a wonder drug.
“I got to hospital and within two hours I had my movement back.
“I was so relieved I can’t describe how I felt.
"I wasn’t expecting it to have such a massive effect.
“I thought it would take months and months but it was so fast and there were no side effects for me whatsoever.”
But doctors warn the drug, which has successfully treated 23 patients Watford General Hospital since it was introduced in 2006, is only effective if the stroke is caught in its early stages.
Stroke specialist Dr Declan O’Kane, who treated Lawrence, said: “It seems that Lawrence’s good fortune was due to the fact that his friends called 999 and got him to A&E so quickly.
“This enabed doctors to treat him within 90 minutes of the stroke beginning. “Had he delayed, the treatment would not have worked.”
Lawrence concluded: “This whole experience really has given me a totally new outlook on life.
“I’ve stopped smoking, want to drink much less and am determined to get fit again and enjoy life. I now realise just how lucky I am.”
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